An employee’s experience of being warned for leaving the office on time has raised questions about workplace rules. The employee said they were expected to inform senior officials before leaving, even after completing their working hours and finishing all pending tasks. They shared the experience on Reddit and asked, “Is this normal workplace culture?”
The employee said they have been working on contract at a government company for over 1.5 years and could potentially be absorbed as a permanent employee if their work is found satisfactory.
According to the post, there is a practice in the employee’s department where seniors inform or report to the department head before leaving the office. Employees are also expected to inform the office group if they are going to be 15 to 20 minutes late.
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The employee recently received a formal warning for leaving the office without informing their seniors or department head. This left them questioning why they needed to ask or inform the department head before leaving every day if their working hours were complete and there was no pending work.
“If I have work, I have no problem staying beyond 6 PM and completing it,” the employee wrote.
{{/usCountry}}“If I have work, I have no problem staying beyond 6 PM and completing it,” the employee wrote.
{{/usCountry}}They added that if work continued late, they would ask whether it could be completed the following day before leaving. However, they said they did not understand the need for daily permission when there was no pending work.
Employee questions office rule
The employee acknowledged that they had previously been told to inform their seniors before leaving and said they had apologised for not following the instruction.
However, they questioned the reasoning behind the practice after being told, “Everyone senior to you does it, so you should too.”
“I honestly struggle to understand this,” the employee wrote, adding that they would be willing to follow the rule if there was a genuine operational or accountability reason.
The employee said they were considering speaking directly to the department head to clarify expectations regarding working hours and reporting so there would be no further misunderstanding.
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Internet debates workplace culture
The Reddit post prompted a discussion about workplace discipline, reporting structures and expectations around working hours.
“You have two options, either you comply or find a new job,” one person commented.
Another user said employees may or may not be required to report to a senior depending on their department and company. They added that if the expectations were communicated before joining, the employee should consider following them.
“Darn bro, are you working for top-tier A-class government secrets?” another user wrote, questioning the seriousness of the practice.
“It’s an easy choice. I’ll go for termination of contract,” another commenter said, while describing the workplace as toxic.
“I resigned from my first company when they asked me to write an apology email. I wrote a resignation email the same day,” another person shared.
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)