Even when office timings are clearly set, many employees feel subtle pressure to stay beyond working hours. In some workplaces, the end of the day is shaped less by workload and more by perception, with staff waiting to see who leaves first. A recent Reddit post highlighted this unspoken culture, with a user claiming that at his former workplace, no one “dared” to leave at 5pm.
In a post titled “Worked at a company where no one dared to be the first to go home at five o clock”, the user said he was employed as an account manager at a firm that specialized in building and designing bakery stores. His official work schedule was from 8:30am to 5pm, though he said he regularly arrived early, around 8:15am.
The employee shared that during his first week, he left the office around 5:05 or 5:10pm. A few days later, he said his manager confronted him over his departure time.
“’What you’re doing is unacceptable,’” the manager allegedly told him. When he asked for clarification, the manager responded, “’Well you’re leaving way too early, everybody’s talking about it.’”
The user said he explained that he consistently arrived at least 15 minutes before his shift began, but claimed the manager dismissed the point, saying, “No one sees you coming early.”
Workers stayed back to avoid being first to leave
Trying to understand the workplace dynamic, the employee said he started observing colleagues more closely. He claimed most employees remained in the office until 5:20 or 5:25pm, not due to pending work but because no one wanted to be the first to leave.
“I’m talking about a company with about 75 employees and all these employees where holding each other hostage to not leave ‘early’. It was 8 years ago when I left the company but it’s the worst workculture I’ve ever encountered. I always mention it to people as a bad example. Pure madness,” the user wrote.
Post draws widespread reactions from other users
The post quickly gained traction online, with several users sharing similar experiences of strict time-monitoring and workplace pressure.
One commenter wrote, “I used to work for a company where you could work 8-5 or 9-6, but they’d want you there 15 minutes prior to get settled at your desk blah blah. They then decided that if you were even so much as a minute late you would have to stay a full extra hour to make up for your tardiness. So if you clocked in at 8:01 you’re staying till 6pm. Same goes for lunch, you had to effectively. use less than an hour otherwise you would be penalized. I couldn’t believe it when I joined my current company and they didn’t micro-manager or clock-watch.
Another user pointed to financial pressures behind punctual exits, writing, “I worked at a place where a bunch of the employees would leave on the dot or a tick early.. and when pressured as to why.. they said they have to get to their second job because the first one didn’t pay enough.”
“I’d make an absolute point of leaving at 1700 as that when the payment stops. Soon there would be a trickle and then a flood of breaking out of the toxic mindset they are in,” a third commenter said.
“Sounds like a nightmare. reminds me of the time i was stuck in a similar trap. glad i moved on. life’s too short for that nonsense,” another user added.
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. Livemint has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)
