Boss Upset With Employee After They Arrived At Meeting On Time Instead Of 5 Minutes Early
Welcome to corporate America!
fizkes / Shutterstock After an employee attended his daily morning meeting, his boss pulled him aside to chastise him. When the worker learned why, he was flabbergasted.
The employee was reprimanded by his boss because he was on time for a meeting instead of 5 minutes early.
Sharing his story to the r/antiwork subreddit, the employee revealed that every morning he logs onto his daily meeting at 9 a.m. on the dot, as that is the scheduled start time. He did not believe it would be an issue until his boss pulled him aside one morning after the meeting.
“[He] mentioned that he has noticed that I’ve been coming to the meeting at 9 a.m. when all the others have been showing up at 8:55 a.m.,” the employee wrote. “I told him, ‘Well, the meeting is scheduled for 9,’ and then he goes off on this corporate theory tangent [BS] about showing initiative.”
“Only in corporate [expletive] America do you get scolded for showing up to the meeting ON TIME,” he concluded.
Photo: Ground Picture / Shutterstock
The employee insisted that if his boss wants workers to be at the meeting at 8:55 a.m. instead of 9, he should schedule the meeting to begin at 8:55 — and most Redditors agreed.
“On time is late, and 15 minutes early is on time” is the [dumbest] thing ever. It’s not the army,” one user commented. “If I am ever ‘early’ it is purely for my personal benefit and no one else’s.”
“Sitting around waiting is ‘initiative?’" another commenter questioned. "I’d think maximizing productivity through adherence to a carefully managed schedule is a better use of time, but then I don’t get off on manipulating people to feed a fragile ego."
"What is happening in those 5 minutes? Probably some dull small talk. How dare you miss that important bonding activity," a third Redditor wrote.
For corporate employees, work already takes up enough of their time. If they have an extra five minutes to spare before a meeting, they should be able to use it to get a few moments of rest, grab a coffee, and recharge. They should use it to their advantage — not unnecessarily sitting in a conference room or on a Zoom call waiting for the meeting to begin.
Photo: wichayada suwanachun / Shutterstock
Employees often have other commitments, such as family responsibilities or personal errands, that they need to balance with their work schedule. Bosses shouldn't expect employees to arrive early to meetings at work — especially those at the start and end of the day — since it disregards the value of their time outside of scheduled working hours.
Encouraging punctuality is important, but it should be balanced with respect for employees' time and commitments outside of work.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.