Technology can help our jobs — but it can also hurt them if we don’t cross-check with our own critical thinking

Read how one Redditor gets called out for overextending their break when, really, the system is flawed.

This launches them into a deep dive on how the clock-in system works and how it can benefit them moving forward.

Boss says the time reported by the punch system is law. Watch me use the law to my advantage

Not a 100% this qualifies as malicious compliance, but here goes:

Eight or nine years ago, I was baker at a popular fast food chain in my country. I [have] always been a model employee, so one day I was surprised the manager asked me into her office.

She reprimanded me because I had taken a 45 minutes (instead of 30) break one day the previous week.

Fifteen minutes over break is quite a stretch, I’d say!

I remembered that day, and indeed I had taken more than 30 minutes, 31 minutes to be exact, and that was because on my way back, someone had a concern that I took the time to resolve.

I explained that to her but she was adamant that the system rounded to the nearest 15 minutes, and that if it said 45 minutes, than there was no way I could have only been 1 minute late.

She made it clear that it was my fault and that the punch system is law since it can’t lie.

Already, I’m sensing this system isn’t exactly as simple as we’d think.

On my next shift, I looked into it.

On the punch system, there is a way to see at what time you punched.

I realized that the system was not rounding the amount of time you worked/were on break, but rather the time at which you punched.

What happened that day was that I punched out at 10h22, rounding to 10h15, and got back 31 minutes later at 10h53, rounding to 11h, hence the 45 minutes break.

Now, in my position, I had the luxury of choosing when to go on break as long as they didn’t run out of anything during that time.

From that day till the day I switched job a few months later, I made sure to go on break just after the cut-off, and back just before the next one.

Something tells me this user has figured out a hack to their benefit, and I am here for it.

For instance, punching out at 10h08, rounding to 10h15, and back-in at 10h52, rounding to 10h45. I thus ended up with 44 minutes break, that according to the system were only 30 minutes long.

Hey, if the system says, the system says!

One time, a supervisor told me that it seemed like I was gone for a bit longer than usual, I replied that she saw me punching in and out, and that she could go confirm in the system if she wanted to.

Never heard from it after that.

That’s one way to embrace technology! Let’s see what Reddit has to say about this.

One Redditor had the exact same system and also used it to their benefit.

Another user wondered why this system even existed in the first place when technology is so advanced.

Another Redditor thought this was more of a comment on humanity than anything else.

And, at the end of the day, the workplace shouldn’t be so strict that an employee can’t take an extra minute or two to return from break.

You want to treat your high performers with respect!

Thought that was satisfying? Check out what this employee did when their manager refused to pay for their time while they were traveling for business.