[Tedaus]

Okay I work in a shop and yesterday, I worked 7am-4pm, so at 4, I went to my supervisor at the time and said "it's 4 o'clock so shall I close my till?" She told me to wait until another girl who works there came back from her lunch hour, so that she could go on my till (I was the only one on the tills). However, the girl hadn't gone until about 5 past 3, so she wouldn't be back until about 10 past and I told my supervisor that and she said to wait 5 minutes before I went for her to get back.

So, I huffed and puffed and showed her I was pissed off (because I was angry after waking up at 6 and working a 9 hour shift and then being told I had to stay for longer without pay).

Anyway, at 5 past, I shut my till and told the two customers who had just come over to queue that they'd have to go to the self service because I was closing my till, but my supervisor said "what are you doing?" and I said "I've waited 5 minutes so I'm going home" and she said "No wait until Megan gets back" and I said "why should I? I'm not gonna be paid overtime?" and she said "no but I can keep you 15 minutes after your shift finishes" and I said she wouldn't be back for ages and I wanted to go home. Anyway, I went back over to my till and was really pissed off because I wanted to go home. Luckily, the girl came back then, but I still left the shop at 10 past 4.

Today at work, she wasn't there, but another supervisor said I should be more flexible since the shop isn't really getting much money and I should try and help so that they don't lose any staff. She also said the other supervisor told her to give me an informal warning.

So now, tomorrow she'll be my supervisor again and we used to be okay with eachother, she was probably one of my good friends up there (she's only 2 years older than me).

How should I act around her? Should I apologize for being 'rude' as she said I was? And was I in the right? Personally, I think I was well within my rights to want to go at 4 since I was tired and I wanted to go home and I'd worked 9 hours. Also, I can't see why I should be punished for staying an extra 5 minutes.

What do you think?

[Mr.Zen]

(Original post by Tedaus)
Okay I work in a shop and yesterday, I worked 7am-4pm, so at 4, I went to my supervisor at the time and said "it's 4 o'clock so shall I close my till?" She told me to wait until another girl who works there came back from her lunch hour, so that she could go on my till (I was the only one on the tills). However, the girl hadn't gone until about 5 past 3, so she wouldn't be back until about 10 past and I told my supervisor that and she said to wait 5 minutes before I went for her to get back.

So, I huffed and puffed and showed her I was pissed off (because I was angry after waking up at 6 and working a 9 hour shift and then being told I had to stay for longer without pay).

Anyway, at 5 past, I shut my till and told the two customers who had just come over to queue that they'd have to go to the self service because I was closing my till, but my supervisor said "what are you doing?" and I said "I've waited 5 minutes so I'm going home" and she said "No wait until Megan gets back" and I said "why should I? I'm not gonna be paid overtime?" and she said "no but I can keep you 15 minutes after your shift finishes" and I said she wouldn't be back for ages and I wanted to go home. Anyway, I went back over to my till and was really pissed off because I wanted to go home. Luckily, the girl came back then, but I still left the shop at 10 past 4.

Today at work, she wasn't there, but another supervisor said I should be more flexible since the shop isn't really getting much money and I should try and help so that they don't lose any staff. She also said the other supervisor told her to give me an informal warning.

So now, tomorrow she'll be my supervisor again and we used to be okay with eachother, she was probably one of my good friends up there (she's only 2 years older than me).

How should I act around her? Should I apologize for being 'rude' as she said I was? And was I in the right? Personally, I think I was well within my rights to want to go at 4 since I was tired and I wanted to go home and I'd worked 9 hours. Also, I can't see why I should be punished for staying an extra 5 minutes.

What do you think?

I think that you were in the right, unfortunately though, what the boss says, goes. What's more important? Keeping a steady income or getting home for countdown in time? I know it sucks, but you just have to bite the bullet and ride the wave sometimes.

[ekudamram]

I'd say you were both in the right/wrong.

Your shift was 7-4, so you have every right to expect to leave at 4, unless there is agreed overtime, but your supervisor also wants everything to run smoothly, and maybe didn't want the customers to have to use the self service as it may come across in a bad way if someone closes a till while they're waiting.

However, she does seem like she went about it in the wrong way, but at least you only got an informal warning.

You could either apologise, if you think that would improve things, or try and act normal and nice next time you see her. If she brings it up, apologise but explain your point in a polite way, as she may get defensive and you don't want to annoy your supervisor

[SnoochToTheBooch]

I don't think it really matters if you were right or not, seeing as you want to have a pleasant atmosphere to work in, or a job at all. I'd let it go.

[llacerta]

It's annoying having to do extra things at work without immediate financial recuperation, but honestly, it's worth it in the long run to not only do such things, but show that you're willing and keen to make a good impression. Annoying your supervisors because of an extra five or ten minutes of unpaid overtime just isn't worth it since it's easy for them to make life difficult.

Sometimes, in my job, I volunteer to stay up to half an hour extra (unpaid). In the short term it's difficult to see how it's worth it, but in the long term, it's meant that when it comes to getting a reference or asking if it's possible for me to swap a shift with someone, it's suddenly a lot easier...And I have a point of comparison; one guy I work with not only refuses to do any extra bits and pieces, but makes it blatant that he's not willing to help, and consequently they seem to be very inflexible when it comes to his shifts.

In short: suck it up- the short term loss is worth the long term gain. An apology is probably a good idea.

[Hylean]

I personally think you were in the wrong.

You were asked to wait all of around 15 minutes whilst your workmate returned from their break. Not that difficult. You weren't asked to work an extra hour without pay or something like that. Just to cover your post until a replacement could be found. You deserve the informal warning and I would certainly apologise to the supervisor.

Nobody likes having to do unnecessary ****, but it happens at times. You work in a company as part of a team, so trying acting like that in the future. It will certainly make you look better and will get you better references.

[DaveSmith99]

So you basically threw your toys out of the pram because you had to stay 10 minutes late? If you had an appointment or something it would be understandable, but it doesn't sound like that is the case.

[rachelkeira]

How old are you?! Sounds like you acted as a stroppy child!
In the grown up working world, not everything is bang on time! Sometimes you have to be prepared to go that extra little bit further and 10 minutes is barely anything to you, whereas for the shop, having the till closed could lose them customers in the short or long term, and you said they're already struggling. In the end it was to your benefit to stay longer, extra sales for the shop mean they struggle just that little bit less and become a little less likely to have to close, making you redundant.

If one of my staff acted like this, even though I work in a different sector, they would have been punished with more than an informal warning due to the sheer insolence. And I agree with the above poster that you should apologise for your behaviour.

[Tedaus]

I don't think I should just be happy to stay whenever they need me (whether it's 15 minutes or an hour) without even being asked in the first place (I had to go to her at 4pm. She didn't come and say "Can you stay an extra 15 minutes?" she just expected me to). I also think that if I just accepted it every time they expected me to stay, that I'd get a reputation as someone who was easy to take advantage of.

I'm normally very committed to work, having correct length breaks, always on time, always work hard, always polite (which some people are none of those things, yet go unpunished) and I don't expect to be taken advantage of. Also, imagine if I had just strolled in 5 minutes late one day? I don't see why they should get the say and I just have to accept any **** they give me with a smile. I know they're 'my boss', but that just means that they tell me what job to do, not to make me do stuff that's not in my contract.

I know it might seem like I'm getting pissy over 10 minutes, but it's more about the principle.

[DaveSmith99]

(Original post by Tedaus)
I don't think I should just be happy to stay whenever they need me (whether it's 15 minutes or an hour) without even being asked in the first place (I had to go to her at 4pm. She didn't come and say "Can you stay an extra 15 minutes?" she just expected me to). I also think that if I just accepted it every time they expected me to stay, that I'd get a reputation as someone who was easy to take advantage of.

I'm normally very committed to work, having correct length breaks, always on time, always work hard, always polite (which some people are none of those things, yet go unpunished) and I don't expect to be taken advantage of. Also, imagine if I had just strolled in 5 minutes late one day? I don't see why they should get the say and I just have to accept any **** they give me with a smile. I know they're 'my boss', but that just means that they tell me what job to do, not to make me do stuff that's not in my contract.

I know it might seem like I'm getting pissy over 10 minutes, but it's more about the principle.

If you strolled in late for no reason then your employer has a right to be annoyed, if you have a proper reason for being late then im sure they would be more understanding. It's the same with this, had they just been asking you to stay behind because they could you would have a right to be annoyed.

[isawsparks89]

I think you were both in the wrong. I don't believe you should've had a warning for that but I know that as a sales assistant, if I still had customers, I'd still serve them if I was still at the till just out of common courtesy for paying customers.

Is it really that difficult to stay a further ten minutes or so?! Is it really so demanding?

[Tedaus]

(Original post by isawsparks89)
I think you were both in the wrong. I don't believe you should've had a warning for that but I know that as a sales assistant, if I still had customers, I'd still serve them if I was still at the till just out of common courtesy for paying customers.

Is it really that difficult to stay a further ten minutes or so?! Is it really so demanding?

Not really, but again it was about the principal. Also, I was ready for an argument because I was tired and had worked 9 hours.

Just to clear something up, I didn't actually get an informal, I just got a verbal, but the supervisor said I should get an informal.

[Popppppy]

(Original post by Tedaus)
Okay I work in a shop and yesterday, I worked 7am-4pm, so at 4, I went to my supervisor at the time and said "it's 4 o'clock so shall I close my till?" She told me to wait until another girl who works there came back from her lunch hour, so that she could go on my till (I was the only one on the tills). However, the girl hadn't gone until about 5 past 3, so she wouldn't be back until about 10 past and I told my supervisor that and she said to wait 5 minutes before I went for her to get back.

So, I huffed and puffed and showed her I was pissed off (because I was angry after waking up at 6 and working a 9 hour shift and then being told I had to stay for longer without pay).

Anyway, at 5 past, I shut my till and told the two customers who had just come over to queue that they'd have to go to the self service because I was closing my till, but my supervisor said "what are you doing?" and I said "I've waited 5 minutes so I'm going home" and she said "No wait until Megan gets back" and I said "why should I? I'm not gonna be paid overtime?" and she said "no but I can keep you 15 minutes after your shift finishes" and I said she wouldn't be back for ages and I wanted to go home. Anyway, I went back over to my till and was really pissed off because I wanted to go home. Luckily, the girl came back then, but I still left the shop at 10 past 4.

Today at work, she wasn't there, but another supervisor said I should be more flexible since the shop isn't really getting much money and I should try and help so that they don't lose any staff. She also said the other supervisor told her to give me an informal warning.

So now, tomorrow she'll be my supervisor again and we used to be okay with eachother, she was probably one of my good friends up there (she's only 2 years older than me).

How should I act around her? Should I apologize for being 'rude' as she said I was? And was I in the right? Personally, I think I was well within my rights to want to go at 4 since I was tired and I wanted to go home and I'd worked 9 hours. Also, I can't see why I should be punished for staying an extra 5 minutes.

What do you think?

I think you were in the wrong, making a big deal about having to stay an extra 10 minutes.

[PinkMobilePhone]

Honestly I agree with you about the principle of it, but at the same time if it was a one-off (and they don't usually make you stay over) then it was just a favour and you didn't need to make such a big deal about it.

If you had to be somewhere URGENTLY, then you should have explained that to your supervisor, politely pointed out that your shift ends at 4 and that you have an urgent other commitment to attend to, and asked your supervisor if she could cover the till herself.

If you didn't have an urgent other commitment, then it wouldn't have killed you to have just grinned and bore it just for that once.

If you don't want it to happen in future, explain to your boss (put it in writing if you must) that you have an urgent other commitment that you go to after your shifts finish, therefore you absolutely cannot work any overtime and must leave at 4pm. Say you are sorry if this is inconvenient, but it's something that is unavoidable. Obviously it doesn't matter if this isn't true, you don't have to say what your other commitment is, but it will mean they will be less likely to bother you about staying past 4pm in future.

There are certain ways that it is okay to go about doing things, and other ways are just plain rude. I'd say you went down the rude path tbh.

[littlehippiegirl]

Think about it. If you went into a shop to buy something and there were no tills open because one staff member was on her deserved break & the other had stormed off in a huff, you probably wouldn't bother shopping there again.

[Steezy]

I personally think you need to grow up a bit. That's work, you have to be flexible and take **** sometimes.

[jennifex]

(Original post by Tedaus)
I don't think I should just be happy to stay whenever they need me (whether it's 15 minutes or an hour) without even being asked in the first place (I had to go to her at 4pm. She didn't come and say "Can you stay an extra 15 minutes?" she just expected me to). I also think that if I just accepted it every time they expected me to stay, that I'd get a reputation as someone who was easy to take advantage of.

I'm normally very committed to work, having correct length breaks, always on time, always work hard, always polite (which some people are none of those things, yet go unpunished) and I don't expect to be taken advantage of. Also, imagine if I had just strolled in 5 minutes late one day? I don't see why they should get the say and I just have to accept any **** they give me with a smile. I know they're 'my boss', but that just means that they tell me what job to do, not to make me do stuff that's not in my contract.

I know it might seem like I'm getting pissy over 10 minutes, but it's more about the principle.

I think you sound like a spoilt brat tbh. What exactly is the "principle"? This is commonplace in a lot of retail jobs; you do what's needed, if that involves staying 10 minutes later then that's what you do. If it's happening every day or on a regular basis or they're expecting you to stay more than 10/15 minutes then yes, I would expect you to be annoyed. But they ask you to stay behind for 10 minutes on one occasion and you act like a stroppy child? You don't deserve that job & I agree that you should have had a warning, it's just a bad attitude.

[Riderz]

You were being spoilt and bratty.

Welcome to the world of work, dont like it, get another job, but Ive never had a job where you can leave on time each day. Things come up, plans change, **** hits the fan, and every now and again you need to do them a favour. If it happened every day it would be different, but once? Forget it and move on. Life is too short.


Oh, and wait til you get a salary...

[poohat]

It really depends on your work environment; if its somewhat flexible (eg they will let you leave 5-10 minutes early if you need to be away for a specific reason, or they wont mind if you come in 5-10 minutes late if you have a good reason) then you were being unreasonable. Most proper jobs are like this

However if they are extremely strict about when you start/finish and wont ever let you leave early, then I would be annoyed - flexibility has to work both ways. I doubt this is actually the case because most jobs are somewhat flexible, but perhaps it is. However I still think you handled it in a silly way even if you were right in principle, you would have been better just waiting for the 10 minutes and then telling your supervisor that in future you want to be paid overtime.

[Hylean]

(Original post by Tedaus)
I don't think I should just be happy to stay whenever they need me (whether it's 15 minutes or an hour) without even being asked in the first place (I had to go to her at 4pm. She didn't come and say "Can you stay an extra 15 minutes?" she just expected me to). I also think that if I just accepted it every time they expected me to stay, that I'd get a reputation as someone who was easy to take advantage of.

I'm normally very committed to work, having correct length breaks, always on time, always work hard, always polite (which some people are none of those things, yet go unpunished) and I don't expect to be taken advantage of. Also, imagine if I had just strolled in 5 minutes late one day? I don't see why they should get the say and I just have to accept any **** they give me with a smile. I know they're 'my boss', but that just means that they tell me what job to do, not to make me do stuff that's not in my contract.

I know it might seem like I'm getting pissy over 10 minutes, but it's more about the principle.

But, it's not the principle. You behaved rudely about the entire thing. Yes, you went to them when it was your time to leave and said it was time. You were then asked to wait, and you said yourself that the person would return soon. Up until now, your behaviour was fine, but after this is where I feel you started being in the wrong.

You then "huffed and puffed" and five minutes before you figured the girl would be back, you closed your till without permission all because you couldn't be arsed to stay an extra 10-15 minutes whilst a girl finished her lunchbreak.

Agreeing to help does not imply you are a walkover. Acting the way you did means that people will be less inclined to help you when it comes round to it as you've shown you're not really a team player. This will come across in any references you might get from the company. Hell, accepting to stay when asked usually does you favours and speeds up promotions, raises, etc.

And let's not even go into the fact you were pissed off about having to work a 9 hour shift when unemployment is still such an issue in this country.

Sure, your supervisor should've asked before your shift ended, but maybe she expected your co-worker to have returned by then.