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Five minutes can cause chaos, especially when management gets strict.

One crew starts following the clock perfectly.

Breaks return. Early starts disappear.

Let’s see how quickly flexibility became valuable again.

You have to stay till 6pm

So, about 10 years ago now, I worked the FIFO lifestyle — and it was great.

We would work 8 days on and get 6 days off. On the days we worked, it would be 12-hour shifts, and ours was 6 a.m. till 6 p.m.

Anyway, we got this manager, and they were good at first, but over time they became more strict.

One day, we were leaving at 5:55 p.m. — which was very common for us, as we carpooled from camp to site (about 5 km away) in our work vehicle, even with the boss. We would leave camp at 5:30 a.m. and be at work shortly after, usually commencing at 5:40 a.m. most days, if not earlier.

The manager got upset about those 5 minutes.

So, one day after leaving 5 minutes early, we were pulled into the office and told that we had to stay until 6 p.m. moving forward.

Even after we mentioned that we mostly ate at our desk instead of going to the lunchroom.

Cue malicious compliance.

They started doing things differently.

The boss would get to the car at the normal time (5:30 a.m.), and we wouldn’t get to the car until 5:50, even 5:55 a.m. at times.

We stopped eating at our desks and took our two breaks away from work in the lunchroom. If disturbed, we’d ignore it or say we’d get to it after lunch.

And we stayed till 6 p.m., even if work was completed.

And here’s the fallout.

Some urgent tasks — that were normally done while most people were on breaks — stopped getting done, or took longer.

Sometimes the work carried over to the next day.

Their manager caught on about 3 weeks later and asked us why.

We explained what had happened.

Things changed back pretty quickly.

That afternoon, we were informed we could leave 5 minutes early moving forward, as long as the work was done.

Let’s just say the manager only lasted another 6 months (not sure if they were forced out or quit).

I don’t know if I’d want to go back to the way things were. Those leisurely lunch breaks would be hard to give up for leaving 5 minutes early.

Let’s see how Reddit reacted to this story.

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I agree. Breaks are important.

My thoughts exactly!

Seriously, why work so hard if you’re not getting paid?

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a longtime bank customer who walked away after the teller gave them a hard time.

This person shares what their work day is like.

The crew stopped arriving early, took every proper break, and stayed until exactly 6 p.m. as ordered.

Within three weeks, delayed work caught upper management’s attention and the old five-minute flexibility quietly returned.

Turns out five minutes was cheaper than a full lesson in work-to-rule.

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Author

Chris Allen