Should you make sure you get to work before the time, or on time? That’s the big question that has sparked a heated debate after a man got into trouble with the store manager for showing up to work at 10am, exactly when his shift started.
He took to Reddit to share his frustration by saying:
“I work as a security guard. I was scheduled to start working at this new store today, starting from 10AM – which I guess is when the store opens. I get there at exactly 10AM, and [asked] to place my belongings in the backroom. I was in the room for a few minutes max, and then came back out to man the door.
“On my lunch break, the manager of the store approached me and asked if next time I could come to a little bit earlier next time so that by the time I put all my belongings down I can be in front of the store at 10AM. I told her no, that if I’m rostered to start at 10AM then I will show up at 10AM, and that if they want me to come earlier then the store would have to arrange that with the security company. I’m not getting paid to come earlier so I really don’t see why I’m required to.”
He then explained how the manager got “huffy” with him, and told him that it wasn’t that hard to come in earlier. She also expressed that it wasn’t fair for him to come to work “just on time”.
“I know it’s not hard to come a little earlier, but I feel it’s more about the principle – if you want someone to come earlier then make that clear through the hours,” he said.
He went on to ask if he is the A**hole for coming to work, “just on time”.
The public was divided over whether the man had a leg to stand on, and here are some of the popular comments:
Lucky-Ability-9411 – “Yeah, I live by the policy of if you ain’t five minutes early, you’re late. I prefer it anyway, get to work have a coffee etc and not have to worry about getting caught up in traffic.”
zykthyr – “See, I get that that’s how it’s done, but that doesn’t mean I agree with it, if I’m scheduled at 10 I’m punching in at 10, if they want me to come earlier so I can be working at 10 then they can schedule me at 9:50 and pay the extra 10 minutes, im not gonna waste my time so that the company can save a buck or 2”.
Merlinia – “As far as I know if they say your shift starts at 10, you have to start to work at ten. Putting your belongings somewhere else etc is not work time. You can’t be there at point 10 and take your time to make some coffee etc too. If you know that you will take 5 minutes to do things like that, you come earlier so that you can start your actual work when your shift starts.”
DanEricsson – “Normally I’m against employers stealing time from people and asking them to work beyond their hours, but I think “drop off stuff” is not officially part of your work responsibilities. I can see why they think it shouldn’t be part of your paid hours.”
So was he wrong by showing up at 10am, and using that same time to put his belongings away or should he come in earlier to make allowance for the tasks he’ll have to do first?
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Picture: Unsplash
