New IT manager tries to "fix" working hours to accommodate different time zones, backfires majorly as employees point out labor law violations: 'Turns out the manager made a mistake here'

No one should have to endure unfair working conditions just because of a silly time zone difference.

The reality is that in the modern era, working with folks in different time zones comes with the territory. Our technology is advanced enough that, given Zoom calls, messaging, emails, and other forms of communication, one can still feel connected and in touch with one's manager, even if they are on the other end of the world. Sure, there will always be some level of adjusting, and ideally, there are at least a couple of hours of overlap between work hours so that you can schedule the occasional check-in. However, these kinds of adjustments are more than doable, and anyone who says they aren't has likely never given it the old college try.

For this IT worker, his new manager could not stand managing the time differences between his Swiss team and the rest of his employees. Unfortunately, this was part of the job, and everyone within the IT department and beyond had figured out how to adjust to these differences and continue doing their jobs without much conflict. But just because this one manager couldn't wrap his head around the current arrangement, he decided that it was well within his jurisdiction to mess with the rules. 

What he underestimated, however, was how diligent his team actually was when it came to knowing their own rights, particularly the folks who lived in Switzerland. These employees knew immediately that the sudden changes to their work hours were in direct violation of their country's labor laws. This is something that their manager never considered, given his inability to think beyond his own working situation. Furthermore, these changes only benefited the manager's day-to-day, which had an overall negative effect on team morale. No one wants to feel like their working conditions and benefits have been sacrificed solely for the benefit of their manager. It wasn't even beneficial for the company at large!

It did not take long for some good old-fashioned malicious compliance to kick in. This not only proved to the manager that he was wildly out of order, but it also led to a complete reversal of the new bogus policies within the first day of their enforcement. Talk about a total waste of planning on the manager's part. Let's just say that he did not last very long at the company after this colossal misstep.

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