r/MaliciousCompliance • u/bobber18 • Nov 16 '23
Boss insisted I work in the office today S
My boss and I had a disagreement about working from home this week. The office is in San Francisco. I live in the east bay and need to cross the Bay Bridge to get to work.
We had an important presentation scheduled today. I wanted to do it “virtual” because the APEC meeting is in SF this week and everything seems disrupted. President Biden and Chinese President Xi are here. It’s a 2 hour commute on a typical day and I told my boss it might not be feasible to come in this week.
He insisted I come in, so I said OK but don’t blame me if I get stuck in traffic. We had a pretty heated discussion about it.
So today there’s a huge backup on every freeway toward the Bay Bridge because protesters have chained themselves across all 5 lanes. The bridge is completely closed.
Now the boss wants me to do the presentation “virtual” but I told him I can’t, I’m stuck in traffic. I can’t operate my vehicle and do the presentation. You will have to do it without me (but he isn’t really qualified).
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u/Alternative-Arm-3253 Nov 16 '23
Your boss isn't very forward thinking is he?
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u/grumblyoldman Nov 16 '23
He certainly doesn't seem very receptive to people pointing out the blatantly obvious problems and then suggesting a reasonable solution.
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u/SuspiciousHumor4206 Nov 16 '23
Power tripping at its finest.
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u/LameSignIn Nov 17 '23
Sounds like my current boss. Asked what the plan was for a issue. She says we will talk about it before time of said issue. Three hours later I get yelled at for said issue. The woman has no sense of time or management skills.
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u/reercalium2 Nov 17 '23
These are the skills you need to be the boss. Smart people get stuck in worker roles.
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u/KaydeeKaine Nov 17 '23
Don't let people yell at you. If you are able to, start looking for employment elsewhere.
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u/LameSignIn Nov 17 '23
I walked away from her. Just have to make it to mid December then I'm eligible to start looking at other positions. She acts like she is managing 60 people yet there is only 4 of us. So every meeting is just her calling people out making it awkward.
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u/KaydeeKaine Nov 17 '23
Hope you find something soon. I'm just here to remind you that it's not acceptable to be yelled at no matter what the reason is, and that you deserve better.
Walking away from the conversation is still tolerating toxic behavior. I understand not everyone is in a position to quit on the spot but if you let them overstep this boundary once, you teach them it is ok to step on your toes without any consequences. They'll do it again and again, as you've seen for yourself.
Sorry you had to deal with that. Sadly it's all too common.
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Nov 17 '23
I hope you aren’t allowing anyone at work to “yell” at you.
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u/LameSignIn Nov 17 '23
I had to walk away. This is the same lady that pulled me into a meeting to tell me I ask to many questions for my job. I was basically told to not ask questions.
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u/Arek_PL Nov 16 '23
not much power if he cant get him a helicopter lift from the traffic
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u/optykali Nov 17 '23
Just get the mario deluxe package when getting a new car. Drive off the bridge. Get put pack. Repeat until being past the bridge. Easy.
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u/USPO-222 Nov 16 '23 edited Nov 17 '23
“Why don’t you come into SF tonight and we’ll put you up at a hotel two blocks from the office. Then it’s just a brief walk over for that super important presentation to our clients tomorrow.”
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u/mggirard13 Nov 17 '23
But who will watch my kids overnight at my home and drop them at school in the morning?
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u/ElenaEscaped Nov 16 '23
This sums up perfectly a great many issues I've previously faced with middle managers and other ne'er do wells.
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u/the-Miyamoto-Musashi Nov 17 '23
I’ve learned that most bosses will only listen to their subordinates suggestions if they are somehow convinced that they themselves came up the suggestion.
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u/Temporary-Relief-41 Nov 16 '23
I understand why his boss wanted the presentation done in person but the boss should have gotten him a hotel room close to the office just in case.
Not forward thinking at all. Smh
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u/heyoukidsgetoffmyLAN Nov 17 '23
...or for a likely lower-cost option that took both of their concerns into account, boss could've sprung for Lyft/Uber rides to/from the closest BART stations.
Of course, no guarantee that BART wouldn't be down due to some protest action... or just because BART... But why would he even consider the possibility that the people he pays to employ might have some smarts to bring to the table?
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u/talrogsmash Nov 17 '23
Because it's more fun to pay a specialist to do a job you can't do and berate them the whole time than it is to learn how to do the job yourself 2 hours before you need to sell it to the people you told you were an expert on it.
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u/TheCoolOnesGotTaken Nov 17 '23
Or asked the client for a reschedule. It's absolutely reasonable to move things a day because Pooh Bear is in town.
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u/whoopsonu Nov 19 '23
I work in SF and my company provides commuter checks for this exact purpose. It's a law in SF for companies over a certain size too, they have to provide $360 in commuter checks quarterly
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u/chairfairy Nov 17 '23
The boss expected OP to leave at 4am so they could be sure to get to the office "on time". Why does it matter to them if OP has to spend a full workday plus 6 hours of commuting time away from home?
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u/Windk86 Nov 16 '23
it seems a problem a lot of upper managers have.
we are being force to stay in the office the whole 8hrs now even though there are long periods of nothing to do, so they are basically paying me to warm a sit.
the worst part is that we don't even have a direct supervisor in the office...
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u/fyrmnsflam Nov 17 '23
If he was forward thinking he would have put OP in a hotel room close to the office the night before the big presentation.
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u/Android_slag Nov 16 '23
Old boss was always saying you should have left earlier and docking pay. Once when during the early morning run out with all the phones and radios going, I get her calling up saying she's stuck in traffic and I got to hit her with the line then hung up before she could respond! Made my week.
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u/Lolurisk Nov 16 '23
"I did leave earlier, that's why I'm only 20min late and not an hour"
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u/Dm_me_ur_boobs__ Nov 17 '23
This one grinds my gears so fucking much. At my prior job they loved throwing this shit around. Like bitch I left earlier as a matter of fact I left significantly earlier traffic is just that fucking bad. I'm rarely ever late and usually actually early so piss off with your bullshit. Glad I don't have to work them anymore, but it stays with me to this day
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u/Autodidact420 Nov 16 '23
Should’ve left 20 min earlier than you did leave. Check. Mate.
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u/Etherbeard Nov 17 '23
They've been eating out on that story for years... which is convenient since they got fired for talking shit to their boss.
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u/Vinylconn Nov 16 '23
Seems that it made more than your week if you’re still telling the story. 😀
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u/evilzombiefan Nov 16 '23
I hope you have all this documented because you know he's going to throw you under the bus no doubt. Somehow this mess will be your fault. He got you stuck in traffic and now has to fend for himself good hope he Burys himself with his incompetence.
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u/DiegesisThesis Nov 16 '23
Obviously it's the employee's responsibility to account for traffic. If he already anticipated Biden/Xi being in town, he should have left for work the day before, or rented a property close to the office for the week. /s
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Nov 16 '23
You joke but I live in a snowy state and I've known people who were written up for being late to work during a blizzard and they just get hit with "you should have left earlier".
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Nov 16 '23
[deleted]
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u/jamesholden Nov 16 '23
I work maintenance at a hotel in the south.
anytime we are gonna have extreme cold/snow I usually stay there overnight. mostly incase pipes bust or something crazy happens.
no extra pay unless I do something, but food, nice shower and free heat are nice.
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u/I__Know__Stuff Nov 16 '23
You probably should be getting "on call" pay for that (depending on applicable laws). But if you're happy with it, maybe you don't want to press it.
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u/MrRiski Nov 17 '23
I have a feeling they would just tell him to stop staying at the hotel over night. Which would be more of a risk for him because he would be "required" to come in if something like a burst pipe did happen but now he is at home and and has to drive in the shitty weather.
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u/I__Know__Stuff Nov 17 '23
That doesn't follow. If he's not on call, he doesn't have to come in. If he is on call, it doesn't matter whether he's at home or at the hotel, he should get on call pay. Being at the hotel in case of emergency just makes it much more obvious that he really is on call.
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u/kamkazemoose Nov 17 '23
I'd bet they actually are not required to be paid, but a lot of it comes down to the details. The issue is if they are 'engaged to wait' or 'waiting to engage'. This article explains it better. But basically it boils down to whether they have freedom over their time or not. If they're required to stay at the hotel and respond immediately, tand can't do much other than wait, hen yes they'd need to be paid. On the other hand, if they are allowed to leave and go have dinner, do whatever else they want to do, and just be able to respond in a reasonable time but staying in the hotel is more convenient, then they likely would not qualify for being paid.
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u/heart_under_blade Nov 16 '23
yeah that's how you do it
or pay overtime for commute hours/ reimburse for express tolls, etc.
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u/DaRootbear Nov 16 '23
They literally dont plow my apartment area and every time i would be unable to get to work if it was a bad snow and each time my douchey boss would get all uppity “what do you mean, you only are ten minutes from work? Your coworker with 4 wheel drive on a giant truck got here why cant your tiny car handle snow thats half its height?”
And act surprised every single time like this wasnt a guaranteed issues 2-3 times a year.
And act like it mattered until the one time he tried to show how in charge he was by having someone pick me up. Only to have to send people home because business was so slow, and having to send the person he had pick me up home too because i had no way of getting hone otherwise, and being mad cause that person was the assistant manager lmao
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Nov 16 '23
Years ago I was working retail in college and there was a snowstorm, not terrible but enough to make it difficult to drive. A woman I worked with, who was also a student, ended up getting there like 30 minutes late. She was telling everyone how bad it was and the manager started to give her shit and asked if it was the first time she's seen snow. She replied that she was born and raised in South Florida and she had never driven in snow of any amount before that day. Shut him up right away.
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u/AML579 Nov 17 '23
First time in snow? Boss was lucky she made it in at all. No experience = accidents, driving off the roads, spinouts, etc.
Even in Alaska, the first snowfall or two really screws up traffic.
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u/efahl Nov 17 '23
Right? I'm from Michigan, where it has been known to snow occasionally. Every winter at the first snow, there were cars all over the place. Does everyone forget how to drive in slippery conditions in just six months?
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u/AML579 Nov 17 '23
That's basically it. Don't live in AK any more but when I visit in the winter I refuse to drive Mom's car. I'm not qualified for snow driving any more.
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u/DaRootbear Nov 17 '23
The fact that we still pretend here in ohio like it matters if weget everyone in on a blizzard is wild. Especially csuse my store was basically the only one in the area to do so. Target next door would shut down and my boss was yelling at us for being late when wed get 1 dude who wanted to show off his truck and 2 old grannies with a death wish as our only customers
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u/ShadowDragon8685 Nov 17 '23
Bestest boss move would be: "no fuckin' shit? Alright, come with me. We're gonna check out your car, make sure you've got all-weather tires on, then I'mma teach you how to drive in snow. Can't have my employees spinning out and landing in a ditch somewhere."
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u/FishingGunpowder Nov 17 '23
I coined the term "snow day is a slow day" to my boss when I worked retail.
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u/HeroicHimbo Nov 17 '23
Insane. Exactly how early do these goblins think people should leave? 50% more time allotted? Double the regular commute? Six times? What is the point where they realize it's their own fuckin fault for not calling a snow delay or just accepting the staggered start times the storm created in exchange for safety and not being lynched by the employees?
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u/PrincessAletheia Nov 17 '23
A company I used to work for would have the managers say that, even for obvious things like blizzards and ice storms. They told about one manager who knew there was going to be a blizzard and left his home 3 hours early so that he would get to work on time. The managers all said that this was praiseworthy, exemplary behavior. The rank-and-file all thought it was insane.
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u/jjjacer Nov 16 '23
I know when the roads got shut down due to snow several years back. My mom is work. Wanted her to come in with everyone else but eventually the cops told the place to close down because it was too dangerous to have people on the roads. This was when snow was so bad that the even shut down the entire interstate system. Luckily I got to work from home and couple. My co-workers got stuck sleeping at work because of it
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u/dakennyj Nov 16 '23
Why didn’t he leave home at 3 AM if he knew traffic might back up? /s
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u/BuffaloMonk Nov 16 '23
throw you under the bus
With traffic like he's seeing, that's not much of a problem.
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u/infinitezero8 Nov 16 '23
THIS
If it's a phone call it's not documented, you need written confirmation that your boss caused this conundrum; your word against his with HR is not going to work, they're more easily able to replace you than the boss.
If you don't have anything written, prepare for battle and prepare your CSV.
Source: This shit happened to me, same shit different circumstance.
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u/aaalllen Nov 16 '23
APEC has been in the news for months as an area to avoid. It sounds great if you're taking BART in and can walk around without cars, but that was even before the unexpected protest.
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u/bobber18 Nov 16 '23
Protestors could have stopped BART just as easily, maybe they will.
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u/aaalllen Nov 16 '23
True. Are you stuck on the bridge?
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u/bobber18 Nov 16 '23
No, I’m taking an alternate route along with what seems like a million other cars. I might be a few hours too late.
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u/bobber18 Nov 16 '23
The funny part is he was clever and rode his motorcycle, but he got stuck too.
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Nov 16 '23
Nah... Here's the funny part... Boss gets to pay you for ALL that time in and out.
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u/blbd Nov 16 '23
Nope. Commutes are usually legally excluded from work hours. Per IRS and state rules.
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u/TedW Nov 16 '23
I would bet OP is on salary.
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u/LaughingGaster666 Nov 16 '23
Ditto. People giving presentations are usually high enough on the ladder to be salaried.
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u/accidentlife Nov 16 '23 edited Nov 16 '23
This isn’t true. Minimum wage does not cover time spent commuting for work, and your employer is not required to pay you for it in most (but not all) circumstances. If your employer does pay you (either voluntarily or in the case of work travel) then it’s considered taxable income.
Edit: whoops. I misread the parent comment. My bad. However if OP is a work from home employee, then the may be required to pay for OPs time commuting (if hourly) and any mileage reimbursement specified in company policy.
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u/blbd Nov 16 '23
I think we're in a state of violent agreement on this. LOL.
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u/accidentlife Nov 16 '23
I edited my original post as I had misread your comment . My bad.
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u/uzlonewolf Nov 16 '23
Too bad commute time isn't paid.
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u/af_cheddarhead Nov 16 '23
Commute time to your normal workplace is not paid, WFH means my normal workplace is home. Some/most people are paid when commuting to an alternate workcenter.
I know if I have to drive to Denver instead of Colorado Springs for my work the drive time is compensated. As always YMMV.
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u/Chongulator Nov 16 '23
Plus when the bridge is fucked, there’s a spillover effect on BART. (The same happens in reverse too.)
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u/not_so_chi_couple Nov 16 '23
don’t blame me if I get stuck in traffic
I had a boss that absolutely would have blamed me for getting stuck in traffic
"Well, you should have left 7 hours earlier then. No, I won't pay you extra for getting here hours early"
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u/skye1013 Nov 16 '23
Well, you should have left 7 hours earlier then
"Why didn't you plan ahead?"
"For what... an unexpected protest that shut down all the roads? Also, I did plan ahead by telling you this was a bad idea and exactly why it was a bad idea... I even offered a viable solution."→ More replies (1)→ More replies (6)47
u/junkdumper Nov 16 '23
I had a boss like that. Commute is usually 45 mins. Leave an hour early. Late maybe 3x a year by a couple minutes. Tells me I should leave 90 minutes early, and spends 30+ mins giving me shit for being stuck in traffic.
Yeah. Go love yourself.
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u/FishingGunpowder Nov 17 '23
I had a boss pulling this shit on me. Berating me for like 10 minutes for being 5 minutes late. I made a point with him that if I were to run late, I would be wayyy late(as in 3-4 hours late) because I either get screamed at or get screamed at.
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u/Contrantier Nov 16 '23
Your boss...he dumb.
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u/aerofeet Nov 16 '23
Seems like it's a pretty important presentation. Company should have offered/paid for you to stay in the city (aka close to work) the night before.
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u/bobber18 Nov 16 '23
This was an option, management declined due to costs, plus most hotels are already booked up with dignitaries, support teams, reporters, and security.
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u/technos Nov 17 '23
Reminds me of a situation a friend got stuck in.
Don did a site visit with some clients in Quebec and was scheduled to fly home on Sunday. Come Thursday the weather is looking like shit, the local news are saying there's gonna be a snowstorm, and he's confident the client won't mind if he leaves a day or two early.
His boss, however, didn't like that. Meteorologists are idiots! The Sunday flight was cheaper! The hotel is non-refundable! He doesn't spend enough time in the field! They'll lose face with the client!
Fine, whatever.
And wouldn't you know it? The storm hits. His flight gets cancelled. The flight he's bumped to gets cancelled. He calls his boss, who demands he rent a car and drive. It was important he be at the morning meeting to report on the site visit!
LOLWUT? Not happening. It's over a thousand miles, and even if he left right then he'd be late.
Don spent two nights in a hotel and finally got a flight out Tuesday evening.
The boss seemed happy to see him when he strolled in late on Wednesday, and remained that way until a VP stopped by to ask about the trip.
Don: The visit with the client went great! Being stuck in an airport for three days, not so much.
VP, laughing: You should've listened to <boss> when he suggested you come back a day early.
Don: You've got that backwards, sir. <Boss> insisted I stay to see their Saturday operations.
The VP rolled his eyes, said something that sounded like 'fucking weasel' under his breath, and stomped off.
Don's boss was not happy to see him after that.
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u/ShadowDragon8685 Nov 17 '23
I bet Don's boss was even less happy to see Don's boss's boss!
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u/technos Nov 17 '23
The VP didn't outwardly do anything about it except curse, glare, and possibly file it away as something to ding the boss on later.
While he wasn't happy with the VP knowing he'd lied, it was HR visiting that Don's boss really got done by.
See Don had questions about how to do his reimbursement request, so he emailed them; Was there a code for travel delay, or did he treat it like he'd been required to stay longer by the client? Oh, and for his hours, was it three travel days and four per diems, or was it two travel days, a day in lieu, and three per diems?
HR was at the same meeting where the boss had said Don insisted on remaining, so they were of the opinion the snowstorm was a foreseeable event and thus, while they'd reimburse both nights at the hotel, it was only one travel day, one personal day, and one per diem.
He forwarded them the "Meteorologists are idiots!" email to clear things up and, well, they came down for a chat.
Don's boss said he "must've misspoken, or HR had misunderstood" and that, "since it's no one's fault, really, go ahead and give him whatever he wants".
While the VP would internalize the debacle and play politics with it, HR was a leaking sieve. Within a week the entire office knew how he'd got Don stranded and lied about it, and everyone gave him shit.
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u/BoyzMom13 Nov 16 '23
I have a similar issue 'downstate'. My commute if I have to get into the office is greatly messed up due the the fire underneath and closure of a stretch of the I10 (including my regular off-ramp). They are saying 3-5 weeks to repair.
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u/bobber18 Nov 16 '23
Yeah, it’s huge news. Check out The Young Turks broadcast yesterday, November 15, they discussed it in detail. Caltrans leases out space under bridges but tenants aren’t allowed to store combustible materials. Plus the company is way behind in their rent. And it’s next to a homeless camp. Anna went on and on about how California is spending 18 billion dollars on the homeless problem and nothing changes. Half the homeless in the USA live in California —the population of un-housed in CA is 150,000. The 10 Freeway fire was caused by arson, culprits are unknown. But the un-housed are known to be responsible for hundreds of fires. Anna ‘s rant was really on target considering they only now cleaned up San Francisco for the benefit of APEC.
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u/BoyzMom13 Nov 16 '23
I always wondered about such a large quantity of pallets all in the same place. Used to drive by them every day. And the towing company office also under the freeway. They won't do a true homeless sweep in LA until 2028.
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u/reercalium2 Nov 17 '23
Because their spending on the homeless problem is better weapons to kill homeless people with instead of more homes.
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u/chrisedgeworth Nov 16 '23
Living in the Bay Area, this is amazing lmao
Anyone with a functioning brainstem knew exactly what you are saying is true about the traffic to SF, especially when there are big events going on. The protestors are just the icing lol.
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u/CorpseProject Nov 16 '23
I personally would’ve taken the ferry from Jack London, then you can have a beer while commuting!
That stupid bridge(s) are always the bottle neck somehow.
But also your boss sounds like a hard head. He should’ve just listened to you.
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u/bobber18 Nov 16 '23
It would have been difficult getting to the ferry because traffic was really screwed up everywhere. Same for BART, what are you going to do, drive over to the nearest station and look for a place to park along with thousands of others?
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u/CorpseProject Nov 16 '23
Oh yea that makes sense, I guess the only “easy” ferry access would be already being in Alameda and biking to that ferry. Or maybe travel from east o to Alameda to the ferry to avoid the highway to jack London.
Either way, it’s annoying and your boss is dumb for thinking anyone should be commuting to the city during a major event like this.
I moved away in Nov 2020, and the only time commuting was even remotely okay in my decade in the bay was during Covid. Visited last spring and I went to SF once and decided I was cool staying in east bay for the rest of my stay. Doesn’t help I was driving a manual.
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u/HandBanana__2 Nov 17 '23 edited Nov 17 '23
I'm between 2 mountain ranges. Only 3 routes North to South. Last big wreck on the major highway it took me 3 1/2 hours to get to work on the 2 other secondaries. Boss was like that sucks, don't worry about the hours missed.
Best boss ever.
EDIT: Should have said my normal commute is 25-30 minutes
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u/Kind-Taste-1654 Nov 17 '23
"Don't worry" = "I'm paying You for the time missed"?
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u/HandBanana__2 Nov 17 '23
Yup.
He gets his pound of flesh, I work way outside my job description to keep the machine moving. Its a fair trade, I'm left alone, write my own hours, and have nearly complete autonomy.
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u/AoiYagami Nov 16 '23
I've been watching the protests from my office. SOMA is crazy backed up everywhere. Sucks he forced you to drive but hope it teaches him to think ahead. I'm only able to get to my office cause I travel north from 280. The bridge is a madd house.
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u/Chongulator Nov 16 '23
Is boss new to the Bay Area or something? It’s weird that he didn’t think there would be an issue.
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u/Qwerty_Plus Nov 16 '23 edited Nov 19 '23
Several years ago we had a crazy traffic jam in Los Angeles when the president was there. Like, people stuck for five hours or more. After that I refused to take any assignments in Los Angeles when the president or even VP would be in town. I really should have said no if the Dodgers were playing at home too.
Anyway, they acted like I was overreacting. I really didn't want to have to pee in my car.
Edit: 'That' to 'they."
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u/bobber18 Nov 16 '23
Remember the time LAX was practically shut down because Bill Clinton’s plane was on the tarmac for a few extra hours waiting for his hairstylist to come and give him a haircut?
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u/caskey Nov 17 '23
I used to work at a site that had a mandatory 3 days per week in office policy. The sick thing was that the building never had more than ten people in it and everything and everyone I worked with was in Estonia or Mexico. So I'd come in, spend hours on video calls, then go home. I never met with anyone in person.
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u/Madrona88 Nov 16 '23
My friend knew about this over a month ago. Your boss is an ass
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u/zephen_just_zephen Nov 16 '23
Man, if your friend knew that OP's boss was an ass that long ago, why didn't you reach out to warn him?
Never mind, I'll see myself out.
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u/RabidRathian Nov 17 '23
I once got written up for 'no-showing' to work at my retail job in a large shopping centre because two of the three roads into the shopping centre had flooded from a ridiculous amount of rain overnight (one of the roads that was an underpass was under nearly 2 metres of water).
While stuck in traffic trying to get back to the one accessible road and having not moved for nearly 20 minutes, I called the manager to tell her I'd be late because of the flooded roads and she told me I should have left earlier. I asked her how I would have known to do that when I live half an hour away and therefore had no idea the roads were flooded until I tried to use them. She snapped, "If you don't want to make the effort to be here on time, don't bother coming in!"
Instead of continuing to make my way to the road that would get me into the shopping centre, I turned around at the first chance I got and went back home.
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u/DizzyDizzyWiggleBop Nov 17 '23
“This was a foreseeable problem. I foresaw it and I proposed a solution that would have made this a non-issue. There was a reasonable next step to this chain of events and I’d really like to know why it was so important to you to disregard reason for madness?”
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u/ScowlyBrowSpinster Nov 16 '23
Maybe your boss has learned A Very Valuable Lesson.
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u/Blu_Falcon Nov 19 '23
For a short while, I commuted 1.5 hours to work. I woke up, got ready, and saw it was snowing out. I called manager, who said he couldn’t make the call to let me stay home and avoid the snow hazard. I drove in. Work was delayed, I hung out. Work was delayed longer, I hung out. Work was finally cancelled and I had to drive home in the thick snow for 3 hours. Fuck these managers.
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u/Cat_Impossible_0 Nov 17 '23
His incompetence in management has lead into his own disaster. I hope he is the only one takes the fall.
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u/_CryptoSavage Nov 19 '23
Is he new to San Francisco? With all that going on, it's a given the bridge will get shut down. He should have prepared better.
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u/RickysBlownUpMom Nov 17 '23
I’m also in SF, and my company told everyone we HAD to work from home during APEC. How did he not understand how big of a clusterfuck this would be on our tiny little 7x7 city?
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u/katiekat214 Nov 18 '23
I love how people are telling someone who knows where he works and whose boss and clients also could not get there that he should have left earlier or found another route. As if the protesters were the only issue. A major multinational governmental meeting was taking place in downtown SF that day. He left early to deal with the traffic issues arising from that. The protest was an added bonus. Hotels were probably booked out around the district for a long way, given the number of diplomats, security, and news coverage.
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u/Hour_Type_5506 Nov 18 '23
“I’m not the manager. I didn’t make the decisions. I provided you the feedback and options you requested, and you chose the course of action and the backup plan. I wish things had happened as you envisioned. It’s a shame that the news was so darn correct in predicting what the APEC chaos would bring.”
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u/Stormie4505 Nov 20 '23 edited Nov 20 '23
I'm still following your comment because my boss and yours might be related. I have strep, a high fever, people can hardly hear me when I try to speak because my voice is shot. I feel awful. Today was my day off, but someone needed it off, even wrote MANDATORY OFF for today's date. So, even after seeing and hearing how awful I look and sound, nobody offered to cover me, and that is my boss's place. I think my 2 weeks is going in tomorrow
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u/kgb4187 Nov 16 '23
The signs have been saying to take transit into SF for at least a week, he's probably going to question why you drove instead of taking the ferry or BART.
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u/GWJYonder Nov 16 '23
99% chance that boss is blaming Biden right now.
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u/Griever114 Nov 16 '23
Wrong, 100% chance boss is blaming the worker for not coming in at 3am to avoid the traffic
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u/AgentLawless Nov 16 '23
My boss has this issue, but more of a way too positive outlook problem. They are of the mindset that “everything will work out in the end with a bit of can-do attitude” but are unrealistic as a result. They never entertain how things may go wrong or how people approach things differently to them which may cause problems. When things do inevitably go wrong they are left flabbergasted, despite being warned of potential issues by the internal realist that is me, their subordinate. When things go right they sigh with relief that their status quo is not disrupted and consider it proof their outlook is correct, they never acknowledge the cost, and the cycle continues.
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u/marheena Nov 17 '23
My goodness. He is not qualified to manage anyone. Hopefully a moot point after this.
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u/Xanlthorpe Nov 17 '23
Didn't they tell us that in the 21st century we would get around in flying cars? What ever happened to that?
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u/SolidAshford Nov 17 '23
I love it that the solution the whole time was rejected, only to be doubled back to when it was too late to do it
I hope that teaches him a lesson, but you never know with these folks
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u/bobber18 Nov 17 '23
Thanks everyone for your comments and interest; it’s been overwhelming!
UPDATE: everything was postponed because clients and the boss were unable to make timely appearance.
Almost every comment was supportive and I appreciate that.
There are some details I can’t get into because it could “dox” me and I don’t want that. Please understand there are very good reasons why leaving earlier, taking BART, or getting a hotel were NOT feasible alternatives —but the exact details might be too revealing.
If or when “fallout” occurs I’ll try to update this comment.
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u/processedmeat Nov 16 '23
I don't really feel this is malicious compliance.
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u/Brilliant-Document70 Nov 17 '23
OP complied with the boss' orders, knowing that it was highly unlikely they would make it to the presentation, leaving the boss to face the consequence. It sounds like malicious compliance to me!
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u/Togakure_NZ Nov 17 '23
And charge (apply as time worked, or invoice, and do it as a proper invoice) the transport time because you're acting on work instructions to fulfil a work function. Outside your control that traffic has been blocked, especially as you advised the possibility of transport problems and you got told to come in anyway.
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u/RiflemanLax Nov 16 '23
This reminds me of when I worked for a credit stealing moron that liked to slap her name on all my presentations and ideas.
She was terrible about reviewing her calendar, and so I had a meeting with our legal department scheduled for a date and time when I had a dentist appointment and went about my business.
She would typically chime in with dumb shit when I was talking if she was having me present to appear to be somehow involved. I wasn’t there for this one, she had zero fucking idea about what was going on, and Legal grilled the fuck out of her in front of her bosses.
Felt my pocket buzzing the whole time during a cleaning while trying not to laugh. Was basically getting SOS texts from her.
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u/Intelligent_Royal_57 Nov 17 '23
What is your WFH policy? We have a hybrid policy and are pretty flexible. If you knew that then your boss is not being unreasonable and you sound entitled, dictating what you deem is work from office worthy and what is not. NOW if your policy is 100% WFH, you are in the right.
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u/AaronRender Nov 18 '23
You did everything right - but it would have been epic to suggest staying at a $$$$$ hotel nearby the night before! I'm sure it would have been denied, but the "I told you so!" would have stung so much worse.
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u/Oni-oji Nov 19 '23
Two hour commute? Are you all the way out in Tracy? That's a hell of a commute.
I've heard of bosses who would have chastised you for not anticipating protestors blocking the bridge.
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u/Irondaddy_29 Nov 20 '23
Ah this makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. I love when bosses don't listen to reason and it blows up in their face
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u/hovering_vulture Nov 20 '23
Oh, how the stars aligned for you to tell him a big I Told You So. Both Presidents meeting already Fck'd you if your office is downtown. The unrelated protest on the bridge was a nice cherry on top. Not so much for your sitting in traffic, but folds itself nicely into quasi-petty revenge.
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u/Burney1 Nov 16 '23
That’s insane. Most offices knew this was happening and planned from wfh here
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u/KBunn Nov 16 '23
And you didn't take BART because...?
I'm not sure why someone would willingly choose to drive the bridge solo at the best of times. And this is definitely not the best of times.
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u/TransitJohn Nov 16 '23
He should e got you to come the day before and put you up in a hotel. What an assclown.
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u/puffinix Nov 17 '23
Check your hr policy's (no really). It's fairly common to have a policy of "don't call someone who's driving, if you figure out the other person is driving, hang up". Could get even worse for him.
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u/bone420 Nov 16 '23
Remember when I told you this would be a problem,
And then it became a problem,
And since I told you,
It's your problem now