Worker reprimanded by manager for not arriving 15 minutes before their scheduled shift: 'I argued with him'

Typically, when working a shift job that relies on a schedule, you'd expect your obligations simply to be present when that shift starts until when that shift ends—nothing more and nothing less. Yet, it's common in many industries that rely on the "almighty" schedule for managers to expect you to be present and ready to work (sometimes even actually working) before your shift starts. Usually, this expectation will be somewhere around five minutes before the start of the shift but occasionally will stretch out to 10, 15, or even 30 minutes beforehand. It, of course, is illegal in most places for your workplace to actually require you to be present without being paid, so usually, these obligations are verbal or implied only, depending on your silent obeisance and desire to keep the status quo.

That's what this worker ran into when their manager, who was irritated about actually having to help a customer, reprimanded them for not being there 15 minutes before their scheduled shift. The workers took to this online community to share their thoughts and experiences, telling their story in a thread that went viral, generating a massive amount of responses from readers. See their original post, along with some of the top responses below.