If you start work at 9 am, is it OK to walk through the door at 9 am ?

[mmhhhkkkk]

Or is that a bit ' late ' ?

Also to answer the actual question, I know that if I pull into my parking space at 8.55 I can be doing my job by 9am - walk into the office, temp check, walk to desk, turn computer on.

So I leave home at a time that gets me to the car park at 8.55, sometimes I’m late but invariably the days I’m late are because my morning has been interrupted by teams calls from the Ops team - so I don’t count that as late to be honest (plus I normally then go straight to the ops department to sort out whatever problem they have in person, I might not then get to my desk till 11 so would look really late )

@Noodleted

It's not late. You need to turn on your computer to do your job but it's part of your job so it happens on works time.

Yeah, like a surgeon's scrubbing in time is work or a chef washing their hands and sharpening their knives. I always get in early and get everything going while I'm having a coffee but that's my choice. It's not our fault the systems take ages to load up.

It depends, I might walk in at 9am but I will have been checking and fielding e-mails since 7am/ 8am. I wouldn't in that instance classify it as 'late'.

Surely a lot of commuting working parents are quite pressed for time in the morning and don't have the luxury of turning up 15 minutes early for coffee, checking hair, breakfast, chit chat and whatever else has been suggested?

I used to rush in, laptop ready booted, sit down and start!

When I worked we couldn't start before 7.15, used to arrive at 7.00, have a drink & read the paper, 7.15 press the button to turn computer on, their fault the system takes 5 minutes to warm up not mine.

I get to work 45 mins before my 'official' start time. 15mins of that is handover, the other half hour is me pissing about making coffee, getting changed, having a fag and a gossip with the night staff. Some staff rock up with just enough time to change and get into handover, others miss handover and I end up giving them their own handover. I've given up feeling annoyed about it.

I worked for the NHS and we had patients arrive at 9am but we didn't start work until 9am. So I thought this was stupid and started to arrive at 8.30am to set up (even though I was a lowly temp I had a key) and I got told off for arriving early and was not allowed to get there before 9am. Which meant I was always letting in a queue of people.

I think taking off your coat and making tea etc needs to be done before 9, but starting up equipment like computers and logging in etc. is surely part of the job and should be started at 9, not done before 9.

I work in a school and I do not expect to have to read through plans and get equipment ready before my official start time- preparing for lessons is part of my job so I expect to be paid for it!

It’s a pretty meaningless question without the context of the job.

Today, I arrived at work at about 9.10 for a 9am start (I forgot that I needed to get petrol.) My first meeting was at 11 but I had already got up at 5.30 in order to finish a presentation.

I was “late” but it would be ridiculous if anyone cared.

You need to be ready to go at 9! That means coat off, signed in, coffee in hand if that’s how you start your day etc. Not pottering about doing these things for 10 minutes after 9!

@theculture

9am

If for example one person has a computer that takes 15mins to boot up and one only 2 mins it's not in their control so it can't be right that one has to arrive earlier to boot their computer!

This was my computer. Plus I'd often find bits missing. I only worked part of the week so if anyone was in need of a replacement cable, mouse, keyboard or even processor tower the lazy so and so that was tech support would cannibalise my computer rather than getting ones out of stores. And then he wouldn't bother replacing them.

For a while I would be getting in earlier but then realised I'd still be waiting for the lazy so and so and why should I waste my own time rather than work time!

@ToykotoLosAngeles

Depends. If you walk straight onto a shop floor, maybe OK, but if you spend 10 minutes making tea and waiting for your computer to warm up it's a pisstake.

Computer start up etc is on company time imo. If they want instant work at 9 then they should invest in top of the range equipment to facilitate that.

@starfishmummy I had the same issue and I too decided hunting around for the cable/keyboard/monitor(!?) Counted as work.

Depends on the job though.

If there is no flexibility and you are paid to work from 9am you should be ready to start at 9am. So arrive earlier, start up your IT, grab a drink and off you go at 9am.

Assuming a fairly junior job

If hourly paid you should be ready to clock/swipe in at 9am - so items put away, been to loo etc.

If office based I’d expect you to be at your desk ready to switch on at 9am

first thing i do is turn on computer
no messing about,
i am considered low paid by a poster above

I used to work with one smug idiot who would keep a track of when people arrived - she dropped her kids off at 8.15 so was normally at work for 8.30 for a 9am start.

She didn’t do anything in those 30 mins - she got a coffee and breakfast, she wasn’t being paid so fair enough.

Oh, I had one of these. Always mentioning at every opportunity that I came in 'late' (with the clear implication of me being cheeky), but I did 9-5 whereas she did 8-4 every day. The management stipulated that the department would be ideally covered from 8 o'clock if possible, but that 9-5 were the essential core hours.

We were a very small team and she couldn't countenance the very thought of having to leave a minute after 4:00 (always left on the dot or a bit earlier), so 8-4 greatly suited her. She either didn't realise or care that, had I not been willing to do 9-5 (which suited me better) and wanted to do 8-4, she would have had to work until 5 two or three days every week. Something about gift horses and mouths, I think.

Anyway, she made a massive show about her 'being the early shift, getting half the work done before I arrived, she was obviously the dedicated worker being 'willing' to be there for 8am, somebody had to be in early' (they didn't - it was her preference) when I (and most of the rest of the office arrived at 9 or just before.

On a few occasions, when we had a big backlog, I came in early myself, to do 8-5. It became very evident that, every day, she got there at 8am, logged on and sent one email from the department inbox (usually forwarding something with 'FYI' - 5 seconds' work); THEN, she would spend the next 50 minutes chatting, phoning her friends who worked there on other floors (not even a pretence that it was work-related), getting toast from the canteen and taking her time over eating it, same with coffee, more chatting, discussing her plans for the evening - then, as people were starting to arrive from 8:50, she finally started working normally.

No, I don' t think so.

If you start at 9 am and you're walking through the door and at your desk at 9am waiting for the computer to start, then you're not late.

Depends on the job as everyone has said, though.
I might not be there until 9.30 for the morning meeting but I will have been fielding 'should i do this?' calls and sorting stuff out on my laptop since 8ish.

Late especially if you make a cup of tea/coffee, start your computer etc. Realistically means you start at 9.15 ish

Where do all of you work with such constant clock watching (assuming office job that isn’t paid by the hour/presence required).
Or maybe I’ve been too sheltered 😂

I think I finally cracked the system.

In order for people to think that you are keen, you stroll in 15-30 minutes early, log on, possibly check a couple of emails and then bugger off for coffee, chats and the like until your start time. As such, nobody ever dares criticise you for downing tools and getting the fuck outta dodge as soon as the second hand ticks over to your finish time and you haven't provided them with 1.25 - 2.5 hours of unpaid labour. They also can't get away with being shitty about your taking your statutory and/or contractual break that way because, hey, everybody knows you're in early every day.

It's certainly less hassle than coming in exactly 60 seconds before your start time and some stickybeak snarking to your manager and claiming you were late when you were genuinely working on time.

The only issue is if you have somebody who thinks that walking in the door is their cue to pester you and start demanding stuff is done right now because you're in. But they're also the ones who actually think that the employer will fall apart without them. And they've never, ever been irreplaceable.

I think you should ideally be ready to start work at 9am but it does depend on the job. If you’re being paid by the hour, I think it’s fine to arrive when your working day actually starts (especially if your workplace doesn’t offer any give and take about appointments / emergencies etc, and even more especially if they only pay minimum wage), but if you’re salaried you should be ready to work at 9am.

@Potteringshed

Depends on the job. Mine would be fine but would also assume you'd finish when you were done for the day and not begrudge ten minutes to finish up a call or something at the end of the day.

Alternatively, I think it's fair that some places are very strict about wanting people at their desk and ready at 9 am but would expect to down tools on the dot of 5 pm. I hate places where the employer expects it to win both ways - gets pissy if you aren't at your desk and working at 9 am but assumes you'll be happy to hang about at 5 pm to just finish that piece of work or something.

Completely agree. Give and take works both ways. I technically start at 9am, I arrive anytime between 8.30am and 9.30am in reality. I finish at 4.30pm but very rarely get away on time and will often work until 6/6.30pm. I also regularly do bits and bobs on my day off (I work 4 days).

No one cares as long as my work gets done and the clients are happy. My output would be diminished if I turned up at 8.45am everyday but insisted on being out the door at 4.30pm. My boss is only interested in the results, he's super relaxed about hours etc, just doesn't care as long as your performance is up to scratch. If he was snippy about when I started, I'd be a lot firmer about when I finished! They get a good deal as things stand!

My DH works much more fixed hours and is always on time or early for work but he never, ever has to work late. Swings and roundabouts really!

@theculture

9am

If for example one person has a computer that takes 15mins to boot up and one only 2 mins it's not in their control so it can't be right that one has to arrive earlier to boot their computer!

This.

Starting up the tech for your job is surely part of your job, and if it isn't done in work time then you are giving them some of your time for nothing!

I do realise though, that it's not a perfect world.

I think that is OK.