Dear Lola,
I have a great job in the city where I live. I use the bus to get to work since owning a car is not needed. However, I am continually late to work by 15 minutes because of the bus schedule. I asked my manager if I could move my start time by those 15 minutes but he said my schedule is my schedule and he needs me there on time. I pointed out the bus schedules being the issue and he told me to take an earlier bus. Lola, that would leave me arriving at work about 45 minutes before my start time! I don’t want to wake up early and sit around the office for 45 minutes that I’m not being paid for. Is it unreasonable to go above my manager and ask the company to allow me to move my work hours?
Sincerely,
Bus Business
Dear Bus Business,
Yes! I’ve been waiting for a question which will allow me to play devil’s advocate for the Big Bad Company Man. I’ve been training for this moment for a few months now, but no letters came in with a seemingly reasonable worker request and an equally reasonable management response. Then your letter came in.
It’s all sunshine and rainbows this morning!
So, let’s advocate for the devil, shall we? You didn’t specify what your job entails, so I am assuming that your office works in a department where time is of the essence. Maybe you provide technical support for zookeepers who rely on you when an animal escapes from their enclosures.
The public must be alerted that a tiger escaped their pen!
Or maybe you work for a company that puts out those weather alerts when a natural disaster rears its ugly head. While alerting the public may not be your actual job – I’m sure you wouldn’t be writing to me because you would realize how critical shift coverage is for that scenario – your job might be to facilitate some step in that nationwide process.
Think of the tsunami barreling down on the East Coast and get to work on time!
Do you see what happens when you’re not very specific with your job position? Since I cannot adequately gauge whether your manager is being reasonable or a complete grinch, I have to let my imagination run wild! Maybe you work in a field where clients have specific needs and must be able to get in touch during your company’s stated business hours. Imagine calling a support hotline during their business hours and the workers haven’t shown up yet because they are on the later bus.
I bet you would be irate as you sat on hold for 15 extra minutes.
I’m sure you’re shaking your head as you read this, mumbling that your job is merely a keyboard position that doesn’t require any specific start and end times each day. While that may technically be true, that would also mean you are simply a single cog in the very large machine that is your company.
Time is always of the essence somewhere within that machine.
While you feel your position doesn’t need such rigidity to maintain its productivity, your manager obviously feels otherwise. You asked a question and were given a clear – and not at all unfair – answer. Which is why your response is baffling to me. Do you really want to annoy your manager by going above their head over such a silly issue? This manager has not written you up for your repeat tardiness, at least not that you’ve mentioned. I’m guessing they said something to you in person, giving you the opportunity to correct the issue without having it put into your employee file.
Reasonable managers can be as rare as an oasis in a desert – don’t spit in the face of yours.
I think you need to take an earlier bus to work. Use those 45 minutes to run errands, schedule appointments, call a friend or family member, or simply read a book. It isn’t a terribly large block of time to fill and your smartphone has lots of game apps to keep you entertained. Or you can try it your way and approach your manager’s boss.
I’m sure it won’t backfire and leave your manager feeling vengeful.
♥Lola♥
Lola wants to hear from you. Send in your questions today by clicking the link in the menu at the top of the page. You can also reach Lola at any of my social media channels.
Shank You Very Much 