Bosses are always trying to save a dollar, even if its at the expense of their employees.

I remember when I worked i a restaurant that forbid us from doing any of our side work during our shift, only to wonder why we all had to stay so late at the end of each night!

So when this user’s husband logged extra time helping people, and was then told it wouldn’t be counted on his timesheet because it was under “15 minutes”, he decided that no problem less than 15 minutes was worth his time!

Check it out!

If you have a problem, it better be a fifteen minute problem!

In a previous job, my husband worked 8-4 in an office. Many of his colleagues worked 9-5, so they were still working when he was leaving.

When he was about to leave, he’d usually be asked a technical question or asked to quickly glance over something by another member of staff.

This was rarely quick and usually had him standing around for a further ten minutes which, on a regular basis, starts to add up.

But when OP’s husband accounted for this extra time in his paysheet, his manager was none too happy!

One day, his manager was going over the monthly time sheets and asked my husband why he’d added 10 minutes on five days across past month.

Bear in mind, flexi-time was allowed. My husband explained the situation, referring to the specific problems he was asked to deal with on each of those five days.

The manager told him that the company only works in fifteen minute segments so he can’t put down 10 minutes, it would have to be 15 minutes.

“However, we can’t round it up because that’s dishonest,” he said. “So just bear it in mind for next time.” This was in front of the rest of the office.

So the next time he was asked for help, his husband kept this “honest” time keeping in mind!

That very same week, my husband signs out of his computer at 4pm.

Just before he leaves, the manager asks him to explain some of the particulars in an email he’d received from a contractor.

My husband asks, “how long will it take?” The manager replies, “just five minutes.”

My husband then says, “unless it’s a fifteen minute problem, I’ll have to look at it tomorrow. Is it a fifteen minute problem?”

Suddenly his manager was eating his own words, and paying for his stubbornness!

His manager turns red and awkwardly says it’s not.

My husband respectfully states that he will put it at the top of his to-do list the following morning and leaves.

One of his colleagues texted him just after 5 and said there was an awkward silence after he’d left.

When the manager eventually got up and left to do something, they all burst out laughing.

It’s not like the manager can be mad at his own rules! If you’re unwilling to be flexible, then your employees are going to be just as inflexible!

Reddit rushed to the comments with their own stories of “rounding down” time sheets.

And another user revealed how they got out of their dreaded meeting with an employee who always came right when they were about to clock out.

This user took a cue from OP’s husband, and used their comapny’s own work from home rules against them!

And finally, when this person’s boss told them to only work on their own projects, it only slowed down the overall productivity!

You can’t get mad when your employees follow the rules you make!

If you liked that post, check out this one about an employee that got revenge on HR when they refused to reimburse his travel.