May 23, 2026 at 8:35 am

Employee Catches Coworkers Altering His Office Arrival Times to Make Themselves Look Punctual

by Heide Lazaro

Person signing their name on a logbook

Pexels/Reddit

Workplace habits can sometimes get strangely competitive, and it can be really annoying when your coworkers’ make changes that can impact you at work.

In this story, an employee arrived at the office 8:55 am and manually logged his time at the reception desk.

At the end of his shift, he noticed that one of his coworkers had edited his arrival time in the logbook.

Check out the full details below.

Coworker changed my clock in time to make it look that she arrived 10 mins early

My workplace is very lax, with no one keeping track of when you are coming and going.

We don’t have any punch-in machine, and our rosters are online.

No one is ever penalized for being late unless you’re a repeat offender and it’s more than half an hour.

This employee and his coworkers had to log their time in and out on a manual book at reception.

But for whatever nebulous reason, we have a manual book at reception.

We’re supposed to leave our name and the time we leave.

We also sign it if we ever go out in the middle of a shift to visit our clients offsite.

It’s probably a WHS thing in the event of a fire to keep track of people’s movements.

Fair enough.

He arrived at 8:55 a.m.

But again, no one ever looks at those, and even the managers periodically forget to sign off.

I arrived at 8:55 before my shift and wrote this down in the book.

The person before me arrived at 8:50. Our shifts start at 9, by the way.

Come 5 PM, I signed the book to indicate I finished.

He noticed that his coworkers who arrived later than him logged in at 8:50 a.m.

Then, I noticed that my 8:55 had been scribbled to be 8:50.

Three people who came after me also signed themselves in as coming at 8:50.

I don’t know why. It’s probably petty beyond measure if there is even a reason.

But this job is so mind-numbingly boring that this discovery is the most exciting part of my day.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a man who refused to keep giving his coworker rides to work because he left a mess in his car.

Let’s see how others reacted to this story on Reddit.

Here’s an interesting idea…

Screenshot 2026 05 11 at 5.36.53 PM Employee Catches Coworkers Altering His Office Arrival Times to Make Themselves Look Punctual

This user shares their personal thoughts.

Screenshot 2026 05 11 at 5.37.17 PM Employee Catches Coworkers Altering His Office Arrival Times to Make Themselves Look Punctual

It makes no sense, says this person.

Screenshot 2026 05 11 at 6.23.47 PM Employee Catches Coworkers Altering His Office Arrival Times to Make Themselves Look Punctual

This person makes a valid point.

Screenshot 2026 05 11 at 6.24.22 PM Employee Catches Coworkers Altering His Office Arrival Times to Make Themselves Look Punctual

Finally, short and simple.

Screenshot 2026 05 11 at 6.24.58 PM Employee Catches Coworkers Altering His Office Arrival Times to Make Themselves Look Punctual

Apparently, even manual attendance books in the office can be cheated.

Heide Lazaro is a veteran human-interest writer and digital culture expert with over a decade of experience in editorial strategy. Specializing in lifestyle, social dynamics, and the internet's most compelling stories, Heide has authored and published more than 10 books online. Beyond her daily reporting, she is a dedicated motivational speaker who helps audiences connect through the power of storytelling. When she isn't sifting through the web's wildest real-life drama, Heide is an avid runner, painter, and novel-enthusiast fueled by a truly excellent cup of coffee.