American manager threatens Netherlands worker with PIP for leaving office at sharp 5pm, gets a reality check from HR

A person (u/dutch_reality_check) working for an American company in the Netherlands was called out by their manager for not taking work seriously. Reasons? Well, it's only because the Netherlander would strictly adhere to the 9-5 official hours and not respond to emails or work-related phone calls on weekends. The manager had also threatened them with a "Performance Improvement Plan," but immediately regretted it when a Dutch HR got involved. The person posted the story on December 27 on Reddit, and their post allowed others with similar experiences to share their misery with the toxic work culture in America. 

The manager, based in New York, was obsessed with the "hustle culture." In fact, even though he had no performance-related issues with the employee, he wasn't happy with them leaving work at 5 PM. "He didn't like that my Slack status goes offline at 5:01 PM every single day. He was annoyed that I didn't reply to an email he sent on Saturday morning until Monday at 9:00 AM. And he was especially frustrated that I refused to join a 'team bonding' Zoom call that was scheduled for 7 PM my time, which is 1 PM his time," they explained. The American manager also lectured them about how they needed to be more "available" if they wanted to grow in the company. The Dutch employee had had enough of their manager, who clearly had no idea about the 'work-life' balance.

"I looked him in the eye over Zoom and told him that in the Netherlands, if you can't finish your work by 5 PM, it doesn't mean you are dedicated. It means you are inefficient or understaffed. I told him I am neither," the employee shared. Moreover, they also reminded the manager that contacting them outside work hours without an emergency is widely criticized in their country. The manager felt humiliated and, in rage, threatened the employee with a PIP; however, he did not account for the fact that the Netherlander wasn't going to be an easy target for him. They immediately forwarded the email to the local Dutch HR representative, who laughed at the manager's bizarre expectations. She insisted that they ignore the manager and conveyed that she would talk to him about it. "I honestly feel bad for you guys in the US. The fact that you have to apologize for having a life outside of work is insane to us," the employee concluded. 

Working beyond official hours isn't something unusual, particularly in America. A survey by ZenBusiness reported that more than 1 in 5 Americans work overtime more often than not. They also found that on average, working Americans clock in 8.3 hours of overtime every week. What's more surprising is that 67% of those who work overtime to meet work commitments do it without any compensation. However, working overtime does, in fact, change their image at the office. A majority of managers (more than 70%) view the overtime workers as hardworking, responsible, and diligent.

Meanwhile, reacting to the Reddit story, u/enfors commented, "It constantly amazes me how these companies think their employees have to 'go the extra mile' for them when they never go the extra mile for the employees. Who the hell do they think they are?" Similarly, u/supershoyu64 shared, "As an American, the hustle culture here is sickening. It's like a virus that keeps spreading! Those who make their work-life boundaries clear are called 'lazy' or 'not dedicated,' similar to your manager's complaints. I sometimes get called 'lazy,' but being called lazy is better than being used and drained like a host of a parasite." u/quiddity3141 wrote, "I'm an American, and I will tell any supervisor to f*** off for violating my free time. It's a job; there will be more. You want me to give more; f****** give me more money, but even then there are limits."

More on Scoop Upworthy

Employee working overtime for 2 weeks quits after boss refuses to acknowledge their effort

Employee works overtime as payback to micromanaging boss and eventually gets him fired

Employee called 'ungrateful' for refusing unpaid overtime, asks why workers are being asked to work for free