Boss schedules 'mandatory fun meeting' at 4:55 PM on a Friday to review the 'wins' of the week: 'This is the micromanager’s way of making sure nobody ducks out early on a Friday.'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
Feb 2, 2026 3:00 PM EST

They know what they're doing, and it's only going to make their employee's resent them.

You would think that everyone hates pointless meetings. If you're going to interrupt an employee's workflow, do so only for something that benefits them, you, and the whole company. Meetings should be for discussions that can't be had over email or Slack. They should be used to exchange new ideas with your team. If you haven't gained something by the end of the meeting that you didn't have at the beginning, then it might not have been worth having in the first place. 

There's nothing wrong with having a meeting that includes reflection on what you've already done that you think is worth acknowledging. If you're constantly moving forward without taking time to tell people they did a good job, they won't be as motivated to keep working hard. If an employee says, "I'm proud that I accomplished X," and their boss tells them, "Why didn't you accomplish Y too?" they can't be surprised when their employee isn't as excited about accomplishing Y, or Z, for that matter. 

At the same time, no employee wants a meeting that's just about reflecting and celebrating wins. You should be able to meet to discuss wins and next steps. An employee whose schedule is filled with pointless meetings is less inclined to participate in and take seriously the more important meetings that require full participation. 

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  • A group on entrepreneurs working on project indoors in office, celebrating successful contract
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

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

  • The employee in this story has to attend the most unnecessary meeting ever. His boss requires him and his fellow remote employees to meet at 4:55 on Fridays to discuss their weekly wins. This meeting is obviously only happening because the boss wants to make sure his employees are working into the last minutes of the workday, and not because he actually cares about his employees' “wins.” 

  • My boss scheduled a "mandatory fun" meeting at 4:55 PM on a Friday.

    We work fully remote. There is no reason for this meeting. He just wants to 'go over the wins of the week.' The win of the week would be letting me log off.
    via u/No_Good_3063
  • Kiss-a-Cod This is the micromanager's way of making sure nobody ducks out early on a Friday
    via u/Kiss-a-Cod
  • No_Good_3063 Original Poster's Reply 100%. It's just 'Attendance: The Meeting.' If I don't turn my camera on immediately, he asks if I'm 'still with us' or having 'connection issues.' I'm not having connection issues, Dave. I'm having motivation issues.
    via u/No_Good_3063
  • mrhorse77 when I was managing a team, I would schedule our EOW recap for friday at like 2pm. myself and one of the other guys on the team left at like 2:30 normally. most of the other guys somewhere between then and 5. what did I do in this meeting every single week? "hey guys, thanks for joining. any major issues to go over? no? anyone got any cool weekend plans? cool, everyone have a good weekend, im leaving in 5 mins, if your shit isnt on fire, please feel free to bounce. catch everyone on mo
    via u/mrhorse77
  • No_Good_3063 Original Poster's Reply Please tell me you are hiring. My boss acts like the servers will spontaneously combust if we aren't 'Green' on Teams until 5:00:00 PM
    via u/No_Good_3063
  • Kaludar_ I know this is petty but it's hard for me to feel bad for WFH people when I have to drag my ass to the office daily.
    via u/Kaludar_
  • A man sitting at a desk talking on a cell phone
    via Toa Heftiba (Unsplash+)

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

  • No_Good_3063 Original Poster's Reply I get that, and I respect the grind. But we shouldn't be fighting each other over who has it worse. The problem isn't that I'm at home and you're not-the problem is that both of our bosses think they own our time until the literal last second of the week. We are on the same side here.
    via u/No_Good_3063
  • Radioactivocalypse All op needs to do is log on, do the meeting and at 5pm say "that's it, my time's up" and leave. So, like op is complaining about having to work during... work hours? Like okay it's late on a Friday afternoon, but I work set hours and can't leave early just because it's friday
    via u/Radioactivocalypse
  • No_Good_3063 Original Poster's Reply I have no problem working until 5:00. I have a problem with 'Mandatory Fun.' If he wanted a status report? Sure. But demanding I sit on camera and clap for 'wins' while my actual work sits unfinished on the other monitor isn't productive. It's theater. I'm paid for my labor, not my acting skills.
    via u/No_Good_3063
  • ConstantEffective364 Allot of companies found to run best there needs to be interaction personally. Especially with projects. That one reason many have called employees back. Now if your job is answering phones, not so important as your 100% monitered. The same with making calls.
    via u/ConstantEffective364
  • No_Good_3063 Original Poster's Reply That is the corporate line, but the actual numbers tell a different story. 1. Productivity: Future Forum data showed that remote workers actually report 4% higher productivity scores than fully in- office workers. 2. Culture: It's often worse for specific groups in the office. For example, 64% of Black knowledge workers reported a better ability to manage stress and a higher sense of belonging when working remotely, compared to only looking forward to the off
    via u/No_Good_3063
  • jaywinner Will that only take 5 minutes or am I charging overtime?
    via u/jaywinner
  • FinnBalur1 Sure. Just don't call it "mandatory fun," it's not kindergarten. Comes off as condescending.
    via u/FinnBalur1
  • BurnettAButter It's a shame your internet is going down at exactly 4:54pm for scheduled maintenance
    via u/BurnettAButter
  • Young man in uniform feels confused and is looking for a solution with internet equipment and wires in server room
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

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

  • occultatum-nomen I have to attend a stupid "fun" meetings on Friday too. The irony is that recently they split our team into multiple teams, brought in an absolute imbecile to lead one of them, and made extremely foolish decisions that have resulted in everyone being stressed, miserable, and unmotivated. I spend the whole meeting pissed off that my time is being wasted, and the irony of mandatory fun time when we're forbidden from helping other teams is totally lost on them. Team building my ass
    via u/occultatum-nomen

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mandatory boss zoom remote work micromanager FRIDAY meeting wfh workplace weekend
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