# Leaving Early



## wmu'14 (Sep 17, 2010)

Anyone ever leave work way earlier then what they should have that day?

At the company I work at, we're getting a new program so no one can be on the old program starting this afternoon, ending Sunday morning when we'd have to go in. This means I have Friday off. My coworkers would have filing to do, but they kept telling me I wouldn't really be able to help out there. So I had the impression I had Thursday this afternoon off too.
I went to say have a good weekend to my supervisor and she was surprised and I told her I thought I wouldn't be able to really help out with the other's filing. She got up to go ask them but I told her that's ok. Then I remembered there was something I could do that wasn't filing that wasn't part of the program being updated and I said I could really do that. She said I could but again I said that's ok, I'll just do it Monday, I'll see you Sunday. She was ok with that and said see you Sunday.

I feel like I've made a massive mistake in saying No to both the filing and the other computer task I could've done. Turns out, apparently, I didn't have this afternoon off either. I spoke in a monotone, sad, stuttering voice. I feel horrible, completely horrible. You're supposed to be excited and eager to help out and I messed up big time.

So, anyone else leave early when they really shouldn't have? Anyone leave early because of a miscommunication on YOUR end? Anyone ever say No when given the chance for more work? Was social anxiety a factor? Were you upset after? Did you dread going back to work the next day?

Please reply, thanks.

Ugh


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## Daylilly (Apr 4, 2015)

I leave work early when all my work is done and I don't feel bad about it.


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## Sagacious (Jun 29, 2010)

I had one boss who kept emphasizing that people could leave early if all the work is done. No one left early and I wondered why - one day I tried to leave an hour early after I was already long done with all my work, and he asked me why - I said all the work was done for today and most of it for tomorrow. He just said that wasn't professional or something of the likes - when he was the one to bring up the option of leaving early- obviously I never asked again.

Another manager would always let people go early when all the work was done, but he would screw around and distract employees by micromanaging and keep pulling people off the tasks they were doing to go do other random crap helping him.. needless to say people pretty much never got off early.

It's like managers enjoy making people work longer and harder, even if there's no actual reason or gain to the company behind it.


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## Hayman (Dec 27, 2014)

We're contracted to work between 8am and 5pm, Monday to Friday. There's very, very rarely an opportunity to leave early. Not only that, we have a clocking machine, so we clock in and clock out every day. However, I know for a fact this is very rarely monitored and the time on the electronic clock is known to be wildly inaccurate (there’s something wrong with it and it's never been fixed due to the expense). 

The only times we get to go early is if the boss leaves early himself. Our office manager is an okay guy and will turn a blind eye to someone who wants to go about five minutes early, purely to get ahead of the rush hour traffic. I've done this a few times myself over the years and those few minutes can mean you arriving home ten minutes earlier than usual. If the office manager also happens to be absent when the boss goes early, we'll probably push this to leaving ten minutes early.

The boss has on three or four occasions has come through to the office and told us to go if it's been really quiet. The final day before finishing for Christmas is the most popular. He's sent us home at around 3pm before now... However, he doesn't do this anywhere near as he used to as he's upset with certain people coming in five or ten minutes late most days - so now everyone suffers.

If I had a boss that would let me go once all my work has been done, I'd probably be leaving somewhere around 3:30-45pm most days (as I said at the start, I officially finish at 5pm). During that last hour and a half or so, I truthfully only have about ten/fifteen minutes worth of work to do most days. Most of which is non-essential and could be left until the following morning. Instead, I simply sit there at my desk with printed e-mail on my desk (makes me look busy) that's already been dealt with and I'll just surf the internet when no one’s looking.


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## nubly (Nov 2, 2006)

I've never done that before, even when I was salaried. I have taken long lunches though.


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## knightofdespair (May 20, 2014)

This thread has reminded me time to take a poop on the clock. Nothing better than getting paid to be 'productive'.


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