18-year-old worker told not to come in at all if she's late for work, turns around and goes home: 'Instead of rushing in, I turned around and went home'

Brad Dickson • Managing Editor

Jun 10, 2025 12:00 PM EDT

When you're in a position of authority, you need to be cautious when setting ultimatums, as some may call you on it, and then you're left deciding whether they've called your bluff or if you'll follow through. Telling someone to "not bother showing up" is one of those phrases that implies they will be penalized if they don't comply with your request, at which point they'll be fired, and since they're fired, they shouldn't bother showing up at all. Of course, managers often throw this around all the time, probably not even understanding what the term means, or knowing and not caring, as they stick to the ultimatum anyway. However, firing people is quite inconvenient, as it requires going through an entire hiring process to find someone else. If you're the kind of manager who throws ultimatums around, there's a pretty good chance you won't want to lift a finger unless absolutely necessary.

When this 18-year-old worker was six minutes late to work due to traffic, she was berated by her boss in front of customers. Her boss told her not to bother coming in at all the next time she was late. And so when the teen inevitably ran late again, she followed her boss's order, calling her bluff.

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"'If you can't be here on time, don't come in at all' - So i didn't."

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_{The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.}
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