Employee turns office clock back 10 minutes to make it look like she arrived at work 10 minutes early

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor
Mar 20, 2026 8:00 PM EDT

She changed the time that her coworker signed in on the sign-in sheet to make herself look overly punctual.

It's better to be early than late! As a certified early bird, I know all too well that if you plan to get somewhere early, you're way less likely to get there late, which sounds like common sense. But a lot of people don't plan to be late, but still end up being late, basically everywhere they go! There are so many people who try to get to places on time but end up late because of traffic or the train breaking down, even though those are obstacles that they could've predicted based on where they live and the time of day. If you leave early, you buy yourself more time if something comes up, so you're more likely to get where you need to be on time. 

But one downside to being early is that most people aren't early birds. If you arrive 15 minutes early for dinner, the hostess might not seat you without your entire party, so you have to stand outside the restaurant for 15 minutes while everyone else arrives, and wait even longer if your companions are late! When I was a kid, my family would arrive at events an hour early, so we would have to wait in the car for 30 minutes because the doors weren't even open yet. That's the kind of extreme earliness that might actually be kind of a waste of time. 

The employee in this story was not early to the office, but she wanted to convince her bosses that she was. 

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  • A person holding the hand of a white clock on a yellow wall
    via Andrej Lišakov (Unsplash+)

    A phantom hand turns a clock backwards.

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

  • My coworker changed the clock to make it look that she arrived 10 minutes early

    So for context: my workplace is very lax with no one keeping track of when you are coming and going.
    via u/****_Lick4596
  • We don't have any punch in machine and our rosters are online. No one is ever penalised for being late unless you're a repeat offender and it's more than half an hour.
    via u/****_Lick4596
  • But for whatever nebulous reason, we have a manual book at reception where we're supposed to leave our name, time we leave, and if we ever go out in the middle of a shift to go visit our clients offsite.
    via u/****_Lick4596
  • Probably a WHS thing in the event of fire to keep track of people's movement. Fair enough.
    via u/****_Lick4596
  • But again, no one ever looks at those and even the managers periodically forget to sign off.
    via u/****_Lick4596
  • I arrived at 8:55 before my shift and write this down on the book. Person before me arrived at 8:50.
    via u/****_Lick4596
  • (Our shifts start at 9 btw). Come 5 PM, I signed the book to indicate I finished but then noticed that my 8:55 had been scribbled to be 8:50, and 3 people who came after me signed themselves as coming in at 8:50.
    via u/****_Lick4596
  • Don't know why, and probably petty beyond measure if there is even a reason. But this job is so mind numbingly boring that this discovery is the most exciting part of my day.
    via u/****_Lick4596
  • I'm based in Australia with strong worker protections, and the office has 40+ employees, and sometimes it's even written with pencil.
    via u/****_Lick4596
  • The skyline of Melbourne, Australia
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    The skyline of Melbourne, Australia.

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

  • I assure you it's completely useless as a way to keep track of attendance.
    via u/****_Lick4596
  • Close-up of businessman signing a contract
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    An employee signs in for the day on paper instead of clocking in on a computer.

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

  • throwawaymentality 10 I would just talk to your supervisor that someone has been messing with your clock in/out time. That effects you directly, imagine if they tried to get you for time theft.
    via u/throwawaymentality10
  • Gonpostlscott Although not often checked, this can still be considered an official office document. Forging and changing others times or info on official documents is punishable. It should be brought to your supv attention to keep yourself safe
    via u/Gonpostlscott
  • Alwayscooking345 Why didn't they just write 8:55 or 8:56 or 9:00 below you instead of scratching it out and changing your time. Really makes no sense to me. I'm assuming the shift starts at 9:00 and nobody really lingers where the sign in sheet is located. Let's say you're going to lie what time you got there, and nobody gets in trouble unless they're 30 minutes late (frequently) why would you lie to make it look like you arrived 5 minutes early? Just makes it seem way too easy to get caught in
    via u/Alwayscooking345
  • DantesGame Have you asked her why she did or does this?
    via u/DantesGame
  • SJ_Skunk If it is as non-critical as you say, make it fun. Start signing in diff fonts, or colors. Heck you could even give yourself a code name.
    via u/SJ_Skunk
  • Necessary_Baker_7458 This is straight up time clock fraud and can be a punishable offence. I would inform your manager of the issue. How are they able to have access to your clock in numbers? My company you would have to know the users log in information to get into their account and change them. If this is how they are doing it, I highly suggest to change your passcode asap.
    via u/Necessary_Baker_7458

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schedule boss time employee lying Office early signature clock clocking in
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