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Some bosses ask for detail, then discover there is such a thing as getting exactly what they requested.
One employee keeps submitting precise timesheets, but when management still wants more specifics, would you argue or document every tiny movement?
Soon the daily log starts t0 include gas prices, stair-climbing times, lunch stops, and timestamps detailed down to absurd fractions of a second.
Let’s see how this ultra precise timesheet was received, shall we?
Can you make your time sheet more specific?
I was taught how to write the timesheet by the person who was training me.
I had to write when I arrived at my work, how long my drive was to the other office, my lunch break, and how much gas I used.
So, I wrote on my time sheet that I was in at 8:01 AM, took my lunch break at 12:33 PM, and clocked out at 6:05 PM.
I was pretty specific about how I went about my day and said that the gas station was approximately $2.15.
I drove approximately 35 minutes to the other office.
I wrote 42 hours and 20 minutes at the end of the week (though it was probably a bit more).
He tried again, but the boss still wasn’t happy.
My boss said that I was still not specific enough for him and that I should try harder.
The next timesheet read: Arrived 8:01, left for other office at 8:05, arrived at other office at 8:41.
The gas is $2.15. I left for lunch at 12:33 and came back at 1:33.
I left for the main building at 5:30. I officially left at 6:05.
That was still not good enough, apparently.
So, okay, I’ll go to the extreme.
I arrived at 8:00 and talked with Mr. Boss for 3.150 minutes.
I left at 8:04:950.
I drove past a 7/11 at 8:10:390, which cost 2.15.
I drove past the Racetrack at 8:29:073, which cost 2.20.
I drove past Wawa, which cost 2.17.
I arrived at the other building at 8:41:093.
I walked up to the third floor, which took 2.160 minutes.
At this point, the boss changed his mind.
I started doing paperwork at 8:46:372 for an hour and stopped at 9:46:780.
I did data entry until lunch.
I got up from my desk at 12:30:453 so I could lock up the office.
At 12:33:450, I left to get Chipotle. After 10 minutes, I arrived at 12:42:890. It took 10 minutes to order, and I sat down to eat at 12:55:345. I made sure to be ready to leave at 1:23:000 to be back at work.
You get the idea. My boss asked me what ungodly timesheet I had written. I explained that I just did what he wanted.
For some reason, I got to do it the way I used to do it.
Wow! Some people are so picky, it’s not even funny.
Let’s see what the fine folks over at Reddit think about this whole thing.
This person is being picky.
Here’s someone confused about the times given.
Some managers are something else.
If you enjoyed this post, check out this story about an employee who decided to push back against time micromanagement.
According to this person, they left something off.
The employee already tracked arrivals, lunches, travel, and gas prices, but the boss kept insisting the entries were not specific enough.
So the next version documented nearly everything, including drive-by gas stations, office walks, paperwork blocks, and the exact timing of lunch.
That level of detail finally made the boss reconsider, and the employee was allowed to return to the old reporting style.
Management asked for more detail but accidentally ordered the director’s cut.