'8:30 to 5 no exceptions? You got it': Boss demands rigid adherence to scheduled hours, gets his wish and productivity tanks

If you demand rigidity of your employees' schedules, you can't then go and expect flexibility from them when you want it. Rigidity is a knife that cuts both ways and—as in any relationship—you shouldn't expect more from it than you're contributing to it. Like with love, trust is a game of give and take.

Unfortunately, this is a lesson that so many managers need to learn the hard way through giving an order for strict adherence to rigid working hours, before experiencing exactly what happens when the workers do adhere strictly to working hours. It becomes quite apparent quite quickly that there is actually a whole lot of productivity that takes place outside of recorded hours and not strictly within the vicinity of a desk between the hours of 9-5 pm. Heck, trap me in an office full time and I promise you I will be the least productive there and during that time. Unfortunately, apparent isn't quite enough for some managers, and they'll keep going along with their heads in the clouds wondering why in the heck the company is suddenly tanking around them.