Employee's hilarious response to boss asking him to arrive 5 minutes before shift is winning the internet

The boss-employee relationship dynamics of today are increasingly straightforward and infused with clear boundaries. Gone are the days when employees would feel they needed to be at the beck and call of their managers, without questioning anything. A recent viral Reddit thread posted by u/heyyslat shows an instance where his manager texted him, asking him to punch in on time. The man shared a screenshot of his chat with his manager from his old warehouse job. His manager wrote, “This message is to advise you about punching in late. Make sure you punch in on time every single day. I know you can do it!”

The employee wasn’t one to be late for his shift and was confused about this remark from his manager. He replied to get clarity on the matter and said, “Hey, I’m honestly just a bit confused because the shifts start at 7:30 and I’ve been punching in at 7:30 every day lately. Some days at the absolute worst it’s 7:35 because of traffic, and no one seems to have an issue with it since it takes a couple of minutes for everyone to get sent to their trucks regardless.”

The response of the man was reasonable enough to get the comment section on his side but turns out his manager thought otherwise. He responded by saying, “Try punching in at 7:25 tomorrow, that’s all I ask.” Some people in the comment section thought that this kind of ‘micromanaging’ doesn’t work. u/radicale_reetroeier said, “You want to grow in a company that micromanages like this?” u/CBguy1983 commented, “Oldest routine… ‘get ready for work by clocking in early’…yeah like so many others I dread work the moment I get in my car to go to work.” 

What truly took the internet by storm was the employee’s ultimate response to his manager’s demand to clock in five minutes early. Savagely, the employee replied, “Will the five minutes be paid?” This response touched upon a very important lesson about boundaries and expectations in the workplace. The silence of the manager after this response says a lot about how justified the employee’s question was. u/extendo_64 commented, “Lol he shut up real quick when you asked him that. Unless you’re trying to grow in the company there’s no reason to!” 

Even though most of the comments were in support of the employee, there were few who stood on the sidelines of the manager. u/monkey_in_the_gloom said, “Manager asking a member of staff to be on time. He’s done nothing wrong. If you’re contracted to be somewhere at a certain time, then you need to be. If you repeatedly fail to do so it needs to be discussed. What about all the other staff that are there on time? Why should they bother if you're allowed to get away with it? It's a job, not a club. Get up earlier.” However, the comment was downvoted by many. 

The comment section is beginning to flood and spark a debate between managers' expectations and employees' rights, which ultimately depends on who’s willing to budge. 

Editor's note: This article was originally published on October 23, 2023. It has since been updated.