Ask HN: Just out of curiosity, when do have to be at work?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=704235

by zyb09 • 17 years ago

5 8 17 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

So my workplace has this rule for everybody to be there at 9am. I've developed a bad habit of showing up late but my boss is not happy. I know its relatively common for coders to sleep late, so my question is, do most software company's give their employees a little slack or is it just the exception?

Again, this is not about what time you start to work, it's what time your boss tell you you have to be there.

kqr2• 17 years ago

I don't have a fixed time I need to get to work even though the official policy is 8:30am. I generally get in from 10-10:30am unless I have a meeting.

Getting to work a little later helps me to avoid the morning commute and allows me to sleep later.

However, I find that you generally have to "prove" yourself at a workplace first.

Over time, my schedule evolved into something that works for both parties. For example, managers start to realize that I come in late so won't schedule early meetings or interviews.

In general, if all they are interested in is a 9-5 bench warmer, then that may not be the best environment to work in either.

ErrantX• 17 years ago

I usually wander in any time from 8:30 to 9:30 - the majority of the rest of the office (non coders) come in at about 10-11. In our other office (all coders) it is stricter - pretty much everyone is there by 9:15.

My boss usually comes in at 4am - it's kinda hard to come in really late (he wouldn't care if we turned up at 12 so long as work gets done) when you know he's been there 5 hours already :) It's the best motivational tool ever.

michael_dorfman• 17 years ago

Most places I worked as a developer required people to be in at 8.

When I had my start-up, I generally expected employees to be in by 8:30, but was always happy to offer shifted hours, if someone asked.

trickjarrett• 17 years ago

My office is normally 9am but over the summer we were given the option of going in at 8am to leave an hour earlier. Surprisingly the majority of our dev team took them up on this, only one held out. I'm usually in around 7:30 though.

jacquesm• 17 years ago

I don't have a boss, but I've been a boss. I let it run completely free except for the office manager. This worked quite well in practice, even though we had the occasional person for whom it would not work and that required the 'choices in life' talk. After that it either worked or that person left.

I find that personal responsibility is a great way to run a company, I don't know how our employees experienced it though.

makecheck• 17 years ago

This isn't an issue where I've worked; show up whenever, leave whenever, lunch whenever.

All a manager needs to ensure is that you're doing your job, and that you aren't a burden on other people. Especially when half of your team may be around the world, it would seem that companies have already written off the importance of what time of day people are available.

stuff4ben• 17 years ago

no one cares at my office and not at the previous job I had either. I usually get in at 8:30 out of habit, but there some that wander in anywhere from 9 to 10 and some that get in a 7 or 7:30.

ScottWhigham• 17 years ago

I had a guy once who I asked on day 1: what time do you want us to expect you in the morning? He said 8:00. He never made it in before 8:07. I asked him on the first day what time he wanted so that we could have an expectation. He didn't do what he said and, to be frank, it was a sore spot for me. 7 minutes wasn't what upset me; it was that he chose the time and he didn't stick to it.

It was too small of a deal to mention to him but it definitely was something that made a bad early impression.

Ask HN: Just out of curiosity, when do have to be at work?

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