Especially when you’re a working parent with kids, it can be really helpful to work for an understanding boss who is okay with bending the rules occasionally, such as not making a big deal about it if you’re a few minutes late for work because your kid missed the school bus.

In today’s story, these office workers have a boss who is pretty understanding, but that all changes when some of the employees decide to complain about another issue.

Read the whole story to see what happens.

Rules are rules, unless you don’t like them. Office edition.

Worked in a pretty low key chill office of about five. Mostly younger women with younger children (that’s kinda relevant).

I asked if they would drop mail at the post office or make a bank deposit on the way to or from lunch (they always went out). Both were on the way to/from lunch.

I told them to take an extra 15 min or so as needed so to not have them rush their lunch time.

So, new woman starts and her and another person come to me and tell me that under Fair Labor Act, and various other rules/requirements they are to be additionally compensated, get mileage for vehicle use and so forth…. and Rules are Rules and they are there for a reason.

Fine. Let’s play by the rules.

Yeah, they probably were correct on that point.

I removed the ask that they go to the bank and such.

Now, some days later one of the staff come to me to say they will be in about half hour late on such and such day as their kid has to be dropped for something.

No problem I tell her, but she might as well just come in at noon.

Time to point out some more rules.

Why she asks?

Well Rules are Rules and the policy manual (same one they quoted to me) states that if they are more than 15 min late, PTO must be taken. A second policy, same manual, requires PTO be taken in blocks of four hours.

This was not a well received announcement.

OK, some of you are already probably responding with this being a jerk move on my part.

The point of pointing out this rule was to make a point.

I gotta point out that these folks often had kid stuff to do (school events, Dr. Appt, kids missing the bus and so forth). They would need to come in late, leave early, and so forth. Usually an hour or two here and there.

My attitude about this was always “do what you gotta do with your kiddo’s, let someone know if you’ll be gone and just make it up whenever.” It was a complete honor system. Didn’t write it down, didn’t really pay much attention as I they were adults, honest, knew what was expected of them and I trusted them to do the right thing.

Needless to say that PTO thing was my making a point.

They quickly decided they didn’t need all those demands formally made and we went back to them going to the post office and such when convenient for them and coming in late without penalty when needed.

If employees want flexibility, sometimes they need to be flexible.

Let’s see what Reddit had to say about this story.

It’s like a piggy bank…

Following the rules goes both ways.

Don’t mess with a laid back office culture.

This person deserves a lot of overtime.

Don’t bring up the rules if you ever want to break them.

If you liked this post, check out this story about an employee who got revenge on a co-worker who kept grading their work suspiciously low.