Seems like being late to work isn't a big deal anymore.

[rh71]

When I had an office to go into (IT app developer), it was pretty much unmetered when we showed up or left. I was a newbie who just started and after a few months I noticed the leniency so I eventually started showing up at 1030am. And leaving at 4pm. Looking back, it was not a good look for me being new. A few years after that the company started allowing telecommuting full time and nobody cares as long as you get the work done.

I'd have to say that this is not good if one aims to climb a ladder or progress skill-wise. While I get my work done on time, it does not motivate me to learn on my own during down-time.

 

[Nashemon]

and that is the attitude that keeps people out of better jobs

Better paying, maybe. Certainly not better if you're expected to be giving up your time without getting paid. To each his own, though.

 

[kranky]

I wish I could just let it go with "get your work done and nobody cares" but I learned over the years that's too simplistic. There's an expectation that you will work 8 hours. I don't want to micromanage anyone but some people simply will not do anything unless they are being monitored.

So many salaried jobs involve work that is time-sensitive and some that's not. I've had some people that look at "get your work done" as the time-sensitive stuff only. Well, that's not an 8 hour-per-day job every single day. There are times you have to occupy yourself productively with things that aren't on a deadline (clean out old files for example, or learn how to do Excel pivot tables, or maybe offer to help someone else who's overwhelmed at the moment).

I built a good career finding useful things to do if I had all the work caught up. Sometimes the work I was supposed to be doing got delayed getting to me and I had 2-3 days of downtime. I'd ask my manager if it was OK if I went over to Department X or Y and see if I could help with whatever they were struggling with. Nobody ever said a word to me when I needed to head out early or come in late. That wasn't true for everyone.

We had an entire department leisure themselves into unemployment after their new manager featured a "nobody cares, just get the work done" policy. Work from home whenever you felt like it, come in late, leave early, whatever. They would report the work progress based on how much of the money was spent(!). People were fighting to get into that group since it seemed to be a fun-filled environment. Two years later, a new VP came in and looked at the project performance numbers and said we aren't going to be in this business area any more. It could have been saved with the right management but the new VP wasn't going to spend the effort to understand the problem. Three people in the group were kept and moved to other departments, the other 12 got the axe.

I tell people to enjoy the flexibility on work hours if it's available but be sure you're letting your manager know what you're getting done. Chances are your co-workers aren't, and that will boost your stock price. And keep an eye on how the higher-ups feel about your group's performance. If it's poor, think about making a move even if people are getting away with working 10 hours a week while getting paid for 40.

 

[mdram]

Better paying, maybe. Certainly not better if you're expected to be giving up your time without getting paid. To each his own, though.

so if you come in 5 min late do you leave 5 min late?
or do you play the time clock, hoping no one notices

 

[gorb]

I have a medical condition that negatively impacts my attendance at work

 

[Ferrari355]

I have a 7 minute window to clock in before being considered late. And if anyone in my department is late our manager lets us stay late to still get 8 hours.

 

[Ns1]

There's an expectation that you will work 8 hours.

The alternative is, "there's an expectation that you will get shit done". Time clocked in is a poor measure of productivity, as evidenced by most of our activity on ATOT

 

[FeuerFrei]

I just make it in ... in the morning - ideally 10am. Being paid hourly means I lose money though, if I don't compensate for arriving after 10.

 

[brianmanahan]

i've never had an hourly-paid job in my life

 

[Chapbass]

I worked with a guy that was consistently late five minutes every day. Every day. How is it that somebody can consistently arrive late the same amount of time everyday but not arrive on time everyday?

I think this is due to the fact that people think they can get ready faster than they really can.

This is my wife constantly. It takes me 30 minutes to get ready to go somewhere (shower, etc), and it easily takes her an hour or an hour and 15 min. No problem. Except when I bug her to get in the shower to start getting ready like 2 hours beforehand, and she then insists that i get ready first. As always, I get ready, she dilly dallies around, and were late by 15 minutes. Its like clockwork.

 

[mdram]

i've never had an hourly-paid job in my life

i did, then i graduated high school

 

[FeuerFrei]

i've never had an hourly-paid job in my life

Maybe one day

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

i've never had an hourly-paid job in my life

Same.

I work in consulting so we charge our clients by the hour though... and my salary is the crumbs of that rate =[

 

[PianoMan]

Where I work, our hourly folks are required to complete their work, and clock in their required hours per day (typically 8 hours of course). When they come in and leave is flexible, within reason.

I had to stop one practice of coming in at 4am and leaving at 12:30pm; the first three hours of the day was virtually a wash.

But if clock in is at 7:30am one day, then 8:07am, the next, and 8:15am the day after - I’ve no worries as long as the top two items are taken care of.

 

[rh71]

The alternative is, "there's an expectation that you will get shit done". Time clocked in is a poor measure of productivity, as evidenced by most of our activity on ATOT

I mentioned it in my post too... that I wasn't motivated to do extracurricular stuff while at home and didn't have anything other than project deadlines to answer to. Contrast that to being "stuck" in the office without the freedom of neffing on message boards, etc... I used to get a lot more done in terms of self-help / skills which in turn could be used for innovation, etc. There was no other choice sitting in front of that computer and it made sense to be productive. I'm 40 now so that's less important in my mind, but I also see it as a missed opportunity.

If I had my own company, I would very certainly limit what people were able to access at their desks. And people would need to limit their smartphone usage during work hours too. It's not to be a tyrant, it's just because I know that works in terms of productivity compared to what we actually had.

 

[Nashemon]

so if you come in 5 min late do you leave 5 min late?
or do you play the time clock, hoping no one notices

No, I use PTO, unless it comes out in the wash from another day that week.

 

[thestrangebrew1]

I prefer to be 10-15 mins early at least so I can get some stuff done w/o interruption. This is only accomplished during the summer however. During the school year, I'm generally 10-15 mins late, because I have a 40 min. commute, and my daughter is not allowed at school before 720am, so there's pretty much no way I can get to work actually on time. My boss is aware of the situation and doesn't say anything. Additionally, I usually try to stay at least 10-15 mins later, again to get stuff done w/o interruptions.

 

[ultimatebob]

Meh... I work in IT, so my schedule has to be flexible. You're going to have trouble keeping people if you expect them to work nights and weekends doing server upgrades and then try to force them to show up at 8:30 on the dot the following day.

 

[ultimatebob]

I get there when I get there. If some company wants me there early, they can pay for it.

I love how all the defaults=sucking company cock. Show up early, skip lunch, work your ass off forever, and you're a Great Worker™. I'm pretty sure that just makes you a dumb fuck. Being a Great Worker™ and $1 will get you a cup of coffee.

In some companies, the "Great Worker™" will get promotions and big bonuses.

In most of the places I worked, all the company cock suckers really got were health problems from doing the work of two people all the time and not taking care of themselves.

 

[Geekbabe]

I will admit to being a few minutes late more than once....but I also will take five to ten minutes to take care of a client after I have clocked out for the day. I don’t leave clients in the lurch.