Boss takes 15 minutes off construction worker's pay when he was 1 minute late, his refusal to work sparks chain reaction with other staff: 'I'm not getting paid until 6:15 so I'm not doing any work until 6:15. I enjoy what I do but I don't do it for free'

Bosses will often get really annoyed when you're even a few minutes or seconds late for your job. Even though it might not seem like a big deal at the time, they have a point. Being late shows a lackadaisical commitment to your job, along with disorganization. And when your job requires a strict timeschedule to keep things running smoothly, as they often do, you're just being careless. Of course, things happen, and sometimes forces outside of your control will cause you to be late. At that point, your boss should be considering your previous punctuality and other circumstances before taking this one instance too far.

In order to make you see the gravitas of your lateness, some will decide to impose a bigger penalty upon you than the crime, trying to brute-force you into complying through severe penalties like your parents might have done when you were a child. Of course, like when you were a child, this heavy hand might backfire and cause you to rebel at the injustice, and may cause your siblings to join you.

Time is money, it's the foundational fact of the entire working arrangement, and it's not up to anyone to arbitrarily decide the terms of that agreement and what time has been worked. That's why it doesn't serve as a suitable punishment to deduct an employee's pay for being late. When this boss tried to do so, it sparked a chain reaction in the workplace that had rippling effects affecting efficiency well outside of the few minutes they were worried about.

Setting ultimatums is a double-edged sword; people like to throw them around way too often as a tactic to get their way, but the problem with throwing your weight around too much is that all it takes is one person resisting and calling your bluff to give the whole game away. 

Like what you see? Follow our WhatsApp channel for more.

Author image for Brad Dickson Brad Dickson
Advertisement

Stay up to date by following us on Facebook!

Tags

workplace discussion employment issues antiwork workplace-stories jobs employee employment-discussion job malicious compliance work employees overworked-employees workplace Horrible Bosses workplace malicious compliance employment in the workplace
Scroll Down For The Next Article

Also From FAIL Blog

UPDATE: Entitled landlord gives business 7 days to leave space, tries to sell all of their equipment: 'He has at least another 4 weeks without rent'

UPDATE: Entitled landlord gives business 7 days to leave space, tries to sell all of their equipment: 'He has at least another 4 weeks without rent'

Trending Now

35-year-old HOA president tries to ban Halloween, neighborhood residents vote to remove her: 'She threatened to have everyone arrested'

35-year-old HOA president tries to ban Halloween, neighborhood residents vote to remove her: 'She threatened to have everyone arrested'

01
Family man purges corrupt HOA board by becoming president and creates ideal HOA, but now 3 years later his community won't let him pass the baton: ‘Will I be stuck… forever?'

Family man purges corrupt HOA board by becoming president and creates ideal HOA, but now 3 years later his community won't let him pass the baton: ‘Will I be stuck… forever?'

02
'I generated over 12 million in sales, and my salary was $60,000': Employee's raise request gets denied, he quits for better job offer, boss scrambles and suddenly offers to increase his salary

'I generated over 12 million in sales, and my salary was $60,000': Employee's raise request gets denied, he quits for better job offer, boss scrambles and suddenly offers to increase his salary

03
Veteran employee gets written up by new boss for clocking in 5 minutes later than his usual early time, even though he was early: ‘I told him my shift doesn’t start until 5:00, he said it doesn’t matter when my actual shift starts’

Veteran employee gets written up by new boss for clocking in 5 minutes later than his usual early time, even though he was early: ‘I told him my shift doesn’t start until 5:00, he said it doesn’t matter when my actual shift starts’

04
Neighbor tries to stop resident from cutting down hazardous pine trees that pose a threat to the resident's property, then steals their wood after the trees are cut down: ‘He went on chopping’

Neighbor tries to stop resident from cutting down hazardous pine trees that pose a threat to the resident's property, then steals their wood after the trees are cut down: ‘He went on chopping’

05
'If you don't like your family... why are you living next door?': Dog owner refuses to see relatives who drove 10 hours for family visit to avoid "boring small talk"

'If you don't like your family... why are you living next door?': Dog owner refuses to see relatives who drove 10 hours for family visit to avoid "boring small talk"

06
Advertisement