I’m gonna omit a lot of details here just in case, ya know.
I work a somewhat unconventional but common job that entails me working in my employers home while they work from home. Their post claims I am 5-10 min late to work everyday and leave right on the dot or sometime 5 min early (literally ONE TIME) I am not 5-10 minutes late everyday. Maybe 3-5.
Most jobs I’ve ever had offer a grace period. I will admit that I am just chronically 5 fucking minutes late everywhere but I show up and I do my job and do it well. As a semi jokingly side note —— I don't even believe in any morality to punctuality or the concept of “lateness' because time itself is fraudulently calculated. I've also seen some righteously on time people never actually show up at all, just there in principal, lmao.
The post said my tardiness is disruptive to the start of their work day but the funny thing is they wrote the post as I was working, doing my job and they were on Reddit in a different room of the house not doing their wfh job. I only found it on my break by pure coincidence and their account matched up to their description.
Confirmed when they very passively brought this up to me at the end of my shift. Very “oh by the way…..but we appreciate you so much! We could not do it without you.” Their post mentioned they need me and overall I meet and exceed their expectations.
They know my living situation is fucked up due to an issue I am having with my landlord that has rendered my apartment unlivable and my landlord essentially telling me I can find another place to live with my two pets for a month while they fix the issue (it’s that severe) or I can break my lease and move out immediately and get half of March rent and deposit back. ALL INVOLVED EXPENSES OUT OF MY POCKET. All while March rent has barely started and yet already been paid in full. But that’s another problem and story for another time and another subreddit. (I’m actively trying to navigate that situation and seek legal help as we speak).
However that doesn’t stop the fact that I’m racking up huge bills living out of a hotel until I can figure out what the fuck I’m going to do next. I live in a metropolitan area where the cost of living is expensive and I do not drive. I commute to and from work. I’m annoyed that despite knowing this they felt the need to make a Reddit post about it.
Why is it impossible to have a boss/employee dynamic that can acknowledge that employees aren’t automated robots who are free of personal problems and emergencies, and stresses and quirks! How many here have war stories of bosses who say and do insane shit that they expect their workers to overlook and do business as usual and yet a simple request or an extra trip to the bathroom or a 3 minute tardy is too much.
I’m supposed to consider, anticipate and meet my employers needs based on the fact that they pay me, but arriving 3-5 minutes “late” is a whole fucking thing?
I’m sure I’ll get downvoted to hell. I know some people love and die by the idea of being punctual.
I just remember in my early 20s I used to help my mom and dad clean an entire huge warehouse overnight (think Costco sized times 2.) My parents are immigrants so they’ve always hustled and made their way to put a roof over our heads and pay their bills, they are “college educated” from the country I am from but alas. We eventually hired a single mom of 3 kids who was undocumented and needed a job to come help us. This lady was chronically 20-30 minutes late every night and I used to get so mad and complain to my dad about why he extended the job to her if she was going to be late. My father reprimanded me and explained that despite the mild inconvenience of her tardiness this lady busted her ass every night and was responsible for feeding, housing and clothing 3 children. She really was a super hard worker and always showed up cheerful and would bring us sandwhiches she would personally make for to share with us during a break. Despite the fact that this lady was a single mom who was managing her home and her young kids all day. My dad told me that sometimes peoples lives are hard and complicated and if you’re in a position to meet them halfway you should try and that everyone should have the right to have dignity in the work place.
Everyone deserves dignity in the workplace.