Manager assigns "urgent" task at 4:50 PM, employee refuses to work past 5:00 PM: 'Why couldn't this be assigned earlier in the day?'

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Dec 4, 2025 4:00 PM EST

No one wants to be told just before the end of the work day that they need to stay back for an emergency. 

Sure, unforeseen circumstances do happen, but nine times out of ten, these occurrences are more directly the result of poor management than anything else.

In this instance, an employee was sick and tired of being told at around 4:50 PM by their manager that "something came up" and he needs to complete a significant task at the last minute. It did not take long for this employee to realize that his manager was either testing his work-life boundaries or majorly disorganized.

If the answer is the former scenario, then this guy needs to stop power-tripping and find a better way to manage his team. If it's the latter, then senior management needs to take note and get this guy out of there. His methodology is not good for morale and it's certainly not good for business either.

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  • It got to the point when one day, the employee's manager insisted that he stay back for another non-urgent “urgent” matter, to which the employer responded that he would not stay past 5:00 PM this time. Whatever doesn't get finished will be picked up tomorrow, no exceptions. That response certainly was not what this manager was expecting to hear. Keep scrolling below for the full story and for the best reactions from several members of this online community.

  • 01
    A worried businessman walks out of the office while holding his hand to his head with an expression of exasperation
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02

    "If a task is so urgent, do not assign it to someone at 4:50 PM if the workday ends at 5 PM."

    I will never understand why some managers pull this nonsense. If it was so freaking urgent, why couldn't this be assigned or notified earlier in the day. I am not staying late because you cannot plan your shit accordingly.
    via CanadianDeathMetal
  • 03
    You may need it by end of day. But at 5PM. I am leaving and it will be finished tomorrow.
    via CanadianDeathMetal
  • 04
    Don't assign tasks that late in the workday, especially if you know your employees are preoccupied with other tasks to work on.
    via CanadianDeathMetal
  • 05
    "Urgency" is not a substitute for absentmindedness. The same applies for clients who respond to an email you sent earlier in the day at 4:58 PM, and expect an immediate response.
    via CanadianDeathMetal
  • 06
    lunarteamagic I work for a software company as part of the support team. We have a client that routinely emails us at 4:50 ish and always says that this issue has been going on for days. But suddenly now it is always an emergency.
    via CanadianDeathMetal
  • 07
    It will never make sense to me. Other than they like to feel the power... or control.
    via CanadianDeathMetal
  • 08
    erikleorgav2 . It's like a new role that was forced on me. My workday ends at 3:30pm CST. If a work order shows up at 3:31, I'm not clocking back in to process that. They're clearly perturbed that I'm not working extra/off the clock because the emails keep coming in.
    via CanadianDeathMetal
  • 09
    XR171 . I have a manager that's a workaholic. He'll change my schedule (job site and not working hours usually) after hours. I put Outlook into Quiet Hours from 5PM-7AM. He's asked me a couple times why I don't respond and he's not happy about quiet hours.
    via CanadianDeathMetal
  • 10
    justisme333 How urgent is urgent? 'I'm happy to pay overtime' urgent, or, 'fix it first thing tomorrow' urgent.
    via CanadianDeathMetal
  • 11
    JRago Failure to plan on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.
    via CanadianDeathMetal
  • 12
    error_accessing_... Bad bosses boss badly. I had a bad boss, worked at a university as a sysadmin. He would do exactly this thing. Wait until about 30 min before close and start a task that should take weeks.
    via CanadianDeathMetal
  • 13
    One time he told me he needed our university to have a webmail portal by the end of the day (back when webmail was a brand-new thing).
    via CanadianDeathMetal
  • 14
    Another time... So how university funding works is, any unspent grant money expires and the rest of it goes back to whomever gave it to you. So you hold
    via CanadianDeathMetal
  • 15
    on to that money and are stingy with it, then when it's about to expire you blow it all. Often times there are restrictions about what you can purchase.
    via CanadianDeathMetal
  • 16
    So I'm sitting at my desk, I hear the boss screaming my name across our entire facility. I come in and he's absolutely furious. I mean,
    via CanadianDeathMetal
  • 17
    on a level I've never seen before, even from this dude who had some pretty serious anger issues. He says, "ERROR! I NEED YOU TO SPEND 40 THOUSAND DOLLARS BY THE END OF THE DAY!!!!! AND I WANT A GOOD F G PRICE ON WHATEVER IT IS!!!!!"
    via CanadianDeathMetal
  • 18
    I called my Sun rep (defunct server company) and told them I had 40k to spend and get me a quote by the end of the day that looks like a good deal-- just raise the MSRP to until it looks like a good deal.
    via CanadianDeathMetal

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workplace-stories toxic-manager employee work stories toxic-workplace job work toxic-boss overworked-employees Horrible Bosses company toxic-work-environment
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