A reader we’re calling B.D. from the Southwest is a relatively new manager at his business. B.D.’s unit of several hundred people is responsible for completing specific tasks each workday. Over the past several months, B.D. has found that he has been able to successfully manage his employees so they often complete the specific tasks prior to the end of their traditional work day.
In the past when this happened, which wasn’t often, B.D. wrote, “we would sit idle for a half-hour or so until the end of day rolled around.” Now, he wrote, because of what B.D. sees as the efficiency or his strong workers, the times they finish early are greater.
“I hate the idea of them sitting around and I would like to send them home for the day when the work is done,” B.D. wrote. “Would there be anything wrong with that?”
As long as B.D. doesn’t run afoul of any company requirements that employees must physically be present until the end of the day, I don’t see anything wrong with dismissing them when the work is done.
If it turns out that any idle time at the end of the day could be used to get a jump on the next day’s work, it would seem appropriate for B.D. to explore that possibility. But if the work is such that it needs to be completed on a particular day, that might not be an option.
B.D. would be wise not to make this decision without letting his own manager know that that was his plan. There could be a reason that his bosses want all employees to remain at work until the end of the day even if his unit’s daily tasks have been completed. If B.D. doesn’t believe any such reasons offered are legitimate, he can decide whether he wants to push his case for early dismissal days when the work is done.
At the risk of sounding like I’m suggesting that workers should be squeezed for as much work as possible, it could also turn out that B.D.’s employees’ efficiency reflects the chance for his company to rethink how much work is expected each day from employees. Perhaps there is something B.D. is doing with his unit that is more efficient than used in managing other units that could be used as a model. The end result might be an increase in productivity all the way around — even though it would cut into B.D.’s unit possibly getting to go home early.
In his question to me, B.D.’s motivation for wanting to let his workers go when their work is done seems clear. He believes it would send a positive message to his employees and reward them for their hard and efficient work. Sitting around with nothing to do but wait for the clock to tick strikes B.D. as both a waste of time and demotivating. Better to have an efficient and motivated group of employees, he figures.
Finding a way to send a clear message to his employees seems the right thing to do, whether that’s sending them home early when their work is done or his unit serving as a model for how all units at his company can be more productive.
Jeffrey L. Seglin, author of The Simple Art of Business Etiquette: How to Rise to the Top by Playing Nice, is a senior lecturer in public policy and director of the communications program at Harvard's Kennedy School. He is also the administrator of www.jeffreyseglin.com, a blog focused on ethical issues.
Do you have ethical questions that you need to have answered? Send them to jeffreyseglin@gmail.com.
Follow him on Twitter @jseglin
(c) 2023 JEFFREY L. SEGLIN. Distributed by TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC.
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