Work policies that penalize people who don’t deserve it will cause a decline in productivity because there’s little incentive to perform better.

See this perfect example where a new company takes over and creates an absolutely dumb new rule that one employee can’t wait to test.

Same punishment for being 5 minutes late as being 3 hours late? Sure, no problem!

I’m working for a low-level corporation, about 450 employees. I’ve been there for 5 years and have risen to the top of my department’s productivity levels. Management had a policy that latecomers would be penalized, but that lateness could be excused under some circumstances.

I was good at my job and I actually loved doing it, so I was more or less a dream employee.

So things always worked out.

I always showed up to work 20-30 minutes early because I liked to sit in the lunchroom and prepare for my day. Management knew I was almost always early, so if I was late from time to time (and such instances were rare) they’d let it slide, as there was always a valid reason.

For some other employees this latitude wasn’t applied. Chronically late employees would get written up and not have their constant lateness excused. They’d complain, of course, but management was firm. They ran an actual meritocracy, where more-productive employees would experience preferential treatment.

Then the business gets sold and we get new management. An international corp only interested in buying us up, stripping us down and selling off the company. Of course, they denied this constantly, but the fact that over the next 2 years they stripped us down and sold off the company proved they were lying.

Not anymore!

New management comes in and has to make a bunch of idiotic changes. One of those changes is that no reasons for being late are accepted, regardless of validity. Anyone 5+ minutes late for work would be written up.

So at the team meeting where this is explained, I asked, “So if someone is 5 minutes late, and someone else is 3 hours late, the punishment is the same?” And they said yes.

From that day on, I stopped coming in early. I’d still head to work at my usual time, but I sat in a local coffee shop instead of my work’s lunchroom. This meant that my work missed out because in the past I would often help out by answering questions, even start work early if needed. Because I loved my job, and the old management were wonderful bosses.

No more of that under new management. If something happened (like unexpectedly bad traffic) and I was going to end up being a few minutes late, I’d just say “Screw it.”

So he took advantage of the situation.

If being 3 hours late is the same punishment as 5 minutes late, I’d just decide to come in later.

I’d call work to tell them I was delayed, then go out and have a leisurely meal in a restaurant, or run some personal errands, go shopping, even see a movie, etc.

Depending on my mood, and how awful the new management had been lately, what would have been, say, a 7-minute lateness on my part would end up seeing me roll in 3 hours late. Sure, it cost me a few bucks, but I made almost as much in bonuses than I did in hourly salary, so missing out on a few hours here and there didn’t bother me too much.

I’d come in 3 or 4 hours late and my new bosses would be fuming. Nothing they could do though but write me up for the basic tardy, same as they would have if I was 5 minutes late.

Here is what people are saying.

Not familiar? I’d guess they are, but think they know better.

I doubt that would appease the executives, but you’ll be popular!

That would make too much sense.

Start ’em young!

Haha have a stroll.

Make it make sense, big shots.

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.