Sometimes, a strict policy can backfire, especially when it’s applied with a little too much gusto.

What would you do if your boss wouldn’t let you leave a few minutes early for an appointment and insisted you take a half or full day off instead?

Well, this employee decided to make them see the error of his ways.

Here are the details!

Boss griped at the idea of me slipping out of work 5 minutes early to get to an appointment on time. Said I’d need to use a sick or personal day. So I did.

For background, my old boss used to be more flexible.

As long as we got our tasks done, if something came up and we needed to slip out a few minutes early, they never had much of an issue.

I rarely took advantage of it, but if I had to, I always made sure to make up those few minutes elsewhere.

This new boss comes along and is such a micromanager and control freak.

The boss definitely regretted their decision.

Now, we are not allowed to be even a minute late or leave a minute early. We need to actually put in for PTO, either for a half or full day, just to be able to slip out a few minutes early.

I had an appointment one day and offered to work through my break time just to leave a few minutes early. Boss balked at the idea.

I arranged ahead of time for a whole personal day off. I booked myself a massage and went out to lunch before my appointment.

Boss wasn’t happy with me for taking a personal day, especially since we’re currently short-staffed, but I did follow their policy.

Now, that’s how you turn a frustrating experience into a day of self-care.

Let’s see how Reddit readers responded to this situation.

Here’s an understanding boss.

According to this person, it’s better to let employees leave a few minutes early than for a whole day.

A similar situation caused this person to put in their two weeks.

It seems that even government jobs are more flexible than some companies.

Bet the boss rethinks that policy!

It’s better to have someone there for a bit than not at all, especially when you’re already short-staffed.

If you liked that story, check out this post about an oblivious CEO who tells a web developer to “act his wage”… and it results in 30% of the workforce being laid off.