One Reddit user related a bizarre experience with the CEO of his own company, who was punctual to the letter. The CEO locked office doors at midday, keeping tardy individuals outside before offering them a lesson on discipline. As an early-arriving employee, he witnessed the atmosphere of being like having gone back to school, recounting how much it brought him back to remembering school prefects keeping those arriving late outdoors under the sun.
The Reddit user quoted the CEO as saying, “He closed all access to the office at about 12 pm and made all the latecomers wait outside the office doors. After a while, he spoke to all these guys about being productive and on time and how ‘I was here till 10 pm last night’ is not an excuse to arrive late.”
This blog entry initiated an online debate, with some defending the CEO’s approach to discipline, while others condemned the tactic as being disrespectful and archaic. One user contended, “If staying till 10 pm is not a good enough reason to arrive late, then simply don’t stay late. If your supervisor has an issue, instruct them to bring it up with the CEO.”
Another pointed out that there were better, more professional ways to handle tardiness, saying, “This is disrespectful behavior. They can just mark latecomers as half-day present, and the same can reflect in their payslips. I’m pretty sure once a pay deduction is at risk, the majority wouldn’t come late. But this is ‘childish’ behavior.”
Some of the users concurred with the notion of better communication, with one saying, “I don’t know particularly about your company but 12 is pretty late and I make it a point to alert my manager if I am going to be coming in late.”
One last user vented, saying, “Never got why CEOs such as this guy act like he owns his workers. If his workers were late, he could have warned them. But what kind of show-off is this guy? Think you are 21+ and you need to stand outside for arriving late at the office.”
