‘They Were Waiting for Him to Be Late’: Boss Moves Up Monday Meeting, Questions Employee for Being Late—Commenters Have Theories

A Reddit post about a boss moving up a Monday morning meeting at the last minute and questioning an employee for being late has drawn thousands of comments. Reddit users proposed several explanations for the sudden change and the boss's response.

@RotaryPhoneDialer shared a screenshot showing that the meeting, normally scheduled for 9:35 a.m., had been moved to 9:32 a.m. in the subreddit r/MildlyInfuriating. The ‘Weekly Kickoff’ usually took place at the aforementioned time but was suddenly moved by three minutes. 

Shortly after the change, the user said their boss called at 9:33 a.m. to ask why they had not joined the meeting. The time difference and the superior’s behavior sparked confusion in the comments of the SubReddit threads. 

The post received 51,000 upvotes and more than 1,100 comments, with users offering different explanations for what happened. One commenter said they would have handled the situation differently, and wrote “I would have just assumed it was a mistake and still joined at 9:35.”

Another commenter wrote, “Because no one sane makes meetings that don’t align to a 5-minute grid.” Similarly, another asked, “9:35 is so strange; why not just make it 9:30?” The same user acknowledged that it was probably for a break. 

Another commenter suggested the meeting change may have been intended to create grounds for disciplinary action. They explained, “Sounds like they are trying to set a trap…Especially calling within a minute of being late. They were waiting for him to be late.” 

Should the Employee Apologize for Being Late to the Monday Meeting?

Some commenters questioned whether the employee needed to apologize, while others disagreed. A user responding to the claim said, “OP doesn’t need to be apologetic, which is basically an admission of guilt.” 

The user suggested, “They need to email their boss and copy HR. State that you need X amount of hours' advanced notice to any meeting time changes.” The comment received 2,200 upvotes from other users.

The user did not mention any previous incidents with the boss, but some commenters suggested looking for another job if the behavior continued. A commenter said, “If your boss is teeing up to take your head off like this, it’s best to move companies.” 

Other commenters criticized the boss's behavior and said the employee should have been given more leeway. They believed there should’ve been at least some grace. That’s considering it was a last-minute change made by the boss themselves.

The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify the claims made in the post, which are based solely on the author's account shared on r/MildlyInfuriating.