If there’s one thing every single employee can agree on, it’s that work should not start until our time starts ticking. I am not working for free, and I hope that y’all are not, either.
Sometimes our bosses need to be reminded, though.
OP really liked his job until the owner sold the business.
This will be a rather basic one, but it still warms my heart.
I use to work in a trade shop run by a great Boss everyone got along great, except for one of the department heads. Let’s call them “Bee”.
For reasons unrelated to this story, the Boss decided to sell the shop to Bee, and in the wake, the majority of the staff quits within months leaving us under staffed.
I naïvely decided to “stick it out” and assumed that Bee would hire people to fill the empty positions, they don’t.
We go from a 15 – person trade shop down a 5 person within a year, and that includes the 6 people who turned over.
One of the many issues that developed (and there were many) was Bee’s inability to schedule, or think through actions to the end, and plan ahead.
His new boss would expect him to get to work, despite it being 10-15 minutes until the start of his shift.
While I worked there (the 2 years with Boss) I often came in 10 – 15 mins early due to the nature of my commute. I’d come in, unload my stuff, make some coffee, small talk with my co-workers, shoot the shit with my Boss, but we never really started “work” until everyone’s scheduled start time.
When Bee took over, the moment you stepped into the stop, Bee immediately started to bark orders at you regardless if you where in the building 15 – 20 mins early. (Mostly it’s because Bee was in a rush to get something done they just remembered)
When I (the now most senior, person left at the shop from the old regime) would point out we technically weren’t on the clock yet for another 15-20mins and I want to make coffee, Bee would just snap at you, telling to do it now because “so and so” is coming right at opening.
So, he organized a small but significant rebellion.
So I started to wait in my car (bring in my coffee from home), and would only walk in the door as the last minute was changing.
I was technically never late to work, and was ready to work the moment I stepped through the door. I don’t know if Bee caught on, but the rest of my staff did and followed suit (since I told them too). For the remaining months I lasted there, all my co-workers would still often show up early to work, but all wait in the vehicles (at some point one of them had a mini van and we all party in there) and go in as a group.
Anytime a new person joined (because someone walked off) we would also warn them of what would happen.
In fact, he says it’s still going on to this day.
It’s been several years since I worked there, I do not know any of the current staff beside Bee. I happened to be doing an on-site install near by at the time that shop would open in the and looked over into the parking lot in front of the shop.
Like clockwork, a minute before the shop was scheduled to open, about 6 people got out of their vehicles and headed in.
I may not work there, but it’s nice to see my Resistance still exists.
I bet Reddit’s going to clap him on the back!
The top comment says he should stop by with pastries.
So we’re just as smart as monkeys, anyway.
Other people have employed similar tactics.
Of course, sometimes the traditions aren’t so rooted in wisdom.
Sometimes the little man wins the day.
Stories like these are just so satisfying.
I imagine OP felt such a pang of pride that day.
If you liked that post, check out this one about an employee that got revenge on HR when they refused to reimburse his travel.