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Imagine working retail, and your boss almost always gives you extra projects that cause you to stay late and rack up overtime. What would you do if you were told you could not longer work overtime?

In this story, one employee decided to keep track of what she was doing and make note of how she used her time. This documentation was very important when her boss later called her into a meeting with HR to explain why she was leaving work early on Fridays.

Keep reading for the whole story.

No OT allowed, and constantly invade my personal time? Okiedokie.

Years ago I had a boss that was… interesting.

He was usually a decent guy to be around, and was good at some of the particulars of the job, but when it came to the day-to-day stuff he was just clueless and/or admittedly didn’t care about pitching in since he knew everyone else could cover it.

When he wasn’t busy, or was stressing about something, he really liked just hanging around and chit chatting, even if we were very busy or, in my case, on my lunch break.

She told him how she felt about these lunch break chats.

I’d asked him repeatedly not to come find me on my breaks (which I took outside) and talk my ear off as it’s the only personal time I get in the day, and I’d really rather not be bothered by anything work related during.

It’s important to note that every position in the company below his is hourly.

At this point I was a few steps down the ladder from his position.

She was honest with her boss.

During one of these interruptions he mentions an unpleasant call he just had with his boss, and asks if I want to hear about it.

I told him, “no, not particularly. I’d like to finish eating, go for a walk, and read for a bit. Then when I come back, clock in, and am an actively working employee, I’d be game to talk about it as much as you’d like.”

Even when he was either grating on our nerves, or making inappropriate jokes/comments, one thing I’ll give him is that we could show some frustrations by making direct comments like that and he’d actually take the hint, (sort of) apologize and back off.

There’s a new rule.

By the time I came back from break he’d gathered all the FT staff and made a show of how I “made them wait”. Then he goes on a tirade about OT and how we’re not to get a minute of it going forward.

This is immediately after his demand we all work open-close for the last two weeks during our busy season, which is roughly 12-13 hour days.

Exhausting? Yes, but I relied on that OT for years (we have multiple busy seasons a year) to put into savings as the pay otherwise was okayish.

He also routinely asks me to stay a bit past my scheduled time to help with things, so already I’m thinking this could mean I’ll be able to make up the potential OT by leaving early on Fridays. Cue malicious compliance.

She started doing things differently.

Going forward I start ending my lunch breaks (usually an hour) the moment either he or anyone else finds me for a work related question.

I’ll walk back inside, clock in, and then discuss whatever they’d like. I’d then say I’m taking my paid 15-20 minute break to go finish my food and take a shorter walk, and wouldn’t clock back out again to finish the actual unpaid hour break, since it was interrupted (HR violation [which I documented]).

I’d always stay after my shift was supposed to end if he or anyone else needed a hand.

I was good friends with the delivery folks on our route and they’d start coming later and later to do our pickups to help me pad out my time and claim “traffic was getting so bad in the area”, since they all thought he was a jerk anyway, and I was ostensibly put in charge of deliveries/pickups for…some reason?

She hardly worked on Fridays.

By Thursday evening I’d look at my timesheet and calculate when I need to leave the following day to avoid any OT, which I’d make sure everyone was aware of so there’d be no surprises.

Of course they were always surprised when I’d abruptly end a conversation, or stop helping a customer, etc, and just pack up and walk out the door.

It got to the point where I’d show up at 7 (I was the opening manager, this is retail), no one else would show up until 8:30-9, and then I’d be leaving around 10am.

Eventually I stopped coming in on most Fridays at all, and told the boss he’d have to open as I wasn’t willing to come in for literally one hour before leaving again, and as I’m well beyond meeting what I need to do to keep FT status I’d just lose that hour (or stay extra late the night before if need be to hit 40 on the dot).

She had the proof she needed to avoid getting in trouble with HR.

It got to a point where he initiated a conversation involving HR on my “leaving so early on day’s we need LifeitMoonlight” and how I was ” abusing the system”.

When the HR rep said this was a fairly serious allegation, and what I had to say in response, I pulled out my notebook with daily breakdowns showing what I actively did during chunks of time, including timestamps for beginning-end, interrupted lunch breaks (and the content of the interruption), extra projects put on me and how that extended my day, etc.

They looked it over for all of 3-4 minutes before sighing, handing it back, and telling me I could go.

Ironically right after the meeting ended I had to rush to go clock out or I’d have been on OT and left.

Her boss backed off a bit.

That Monday my boss tries to play it off like I “got away with it once but don’t try it again”, but is being very cautious regarding asking for help (for things that are his direct responsibility anyway), and only came out one further time to talk to me on lunch before seeing my notebook next to me and sheepishly walking away.

The OT ruling came and went for years, so I’d either keep mysteriously wracking up extra time to leave early (“delayed” pickups for our shipments), or would work open-close of my own choosing when they randomly decided they didn’t care about OT for a few months.

Either way I was never bothered regarding how I fluctuated with my schedule again.

She handled that well. Documentation was key.

Let’s see how Reddit responded.

This person shares what they find confusing.

A former manager weighs in.

Here’s a story about Walmart.

If you enjoyed this post, check out this story about an employee who decided to push back against time micromanagement.

This person shares their opinion.

She handled that well! Her boss sounds clueless. At least HR was on her side and he backed off.

It’s a good thing she wrote down everything she did that caused her to stay late during her shifts.