Imagine having a flexible work schedule where you can work until the job is done.

Sometimes this might mean leaving work early, but other times it might mean working a little bit longer than usual.

What would you do if your boss suddenly took away that flexibility and wanted you to stick to specific work hours?

Would you be happy to comply, or would you find a way to show the boss this was a bad idea?

In today’s story, one employee is in this situation and finds a way to make the boss regret taking away the flexibility.

Let’s see what this employee did.

No more taking advantage of flexible hours your day ends at 4:00 PM from now on!

This happened a long time ago, about 13 to 15 years ago.

I had just started a job at a government agency, where I was responsible for a big fleet of cars.

My duties included driving the vehicles to various places like repair shops, tire companies, glass repair shops, and inspection centers.

I also performed simple repairs myself, like replacing some light bulbs (not all).

In addition to all of that, I hand-washed and cleaned every car, both inside and out, refilled the windshield washer fluid, and made sure all the required items were in each car.

The boss got strict about the working hours.

Washing a car inside and out, checking the fluids, and making sure all the necessary equipment was present took a minimum of 45 minutes and a maximum of about an hour.

About a month into the job, my boss decided I was taking too much advantage of my flexible working hours and told me that I had to stop working precisely at 4:00 PM.

So I decided to follow my boss’s rule to the letter.

The boss noticed a change in the employee’s work.

As the days went on, and if it was after 3:15 PM, I didn’t think I had enough time to start washing and fixing another car.

So instead, I did other small tasks like sweeping the floor or restocking the supply room.

After a few weeks of this, my boss noticed that fewer cars had been cleaned and fixed in total. So he called me into a meeting to ask why.

That’s when I brought up his policy that I had to leave at exactly 4:00 PM and that I shouldn’t be “taking advantage” of my flexible hours.

The boss understood the situation.

The boss suddenly realized why I had been “taking advantage” of the flexible hours before—I was simply working smart.

Some days, I would go home a little earlier after a car was finished, and on other days, I needed an extra 5 to 20 minutes to complete a car.

It wasn’t a daily issue, but it happened often enough that the boss’s new policy created a problem.

The boss made a wise decision.

So After the boss had been thinking for a moment, he said that we should go back to the way I was working before.

He apologized for his poor policy and admitted that he was wrong.

I ended up staying at that job for about two more years, and we got along well for that entire time.

I love that the boss understood and had a change of heart. That worked out well!

Let’s see how Reddit reacted to this story.

Seriously, what a great boss!

This person is also amazed at the boss.

This person shares a story about their boss.

This person thinks they should’ve worked there forever.

It’s hard to find a boss as awesome as this one!

We love to see it, honestly.

If you liked that post, check out this post about a woman who tracked down a contractor who tried to vanish without a trace.