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Face time in the workplace, does it matter?
If your employer offers a 2pm close on Fridays, are you truly able to leave at 2pm?
Q: I am an employee at a smallish start-up. On Fridays, we are allowed to quit working at 2pm. Most of us stay after 2pm to socialize, chat, and clean off our desks from the past week. There are a few people who seem to jump into happy hour mode. I like to socialize for a bit then join a yoga class in our building. I have been recently told that it would be “good for my career” to work until 5pm or later on Fridays. I found this confusing since some head home at 2pm, some sit around and chat and then others start drinking. I am not a drinker, so this doesn’t really appeal to me. What are your thoughts?
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A: It sounds like your company is offering an abbreviated workday on Fridays to acknowledge employees for their contributions during the week. Some companies also offer this benefit to encourage work/life balance. Some of our clients offer a similar benefit either during the year, or over the summer months.
In workplaces, there are written rules. For example, your company may have an employee handbook that discusses expected work hours, appropriate dress, or even time off protocol. Some employers do not have an employee handbook, but they still may have policies which outline technology security (e.g. establishing a password), how to order new supplies or building access. These rules tend to be written, widely accepted, and most employees understand these rules.
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Workplaces also often have unwritten rules, or norms for behavior. For example, if an office door is shut does that you mean you wait until the door opens again? Or does that mean you can knock only if urgent? Or can you knock and enter if there is a general question? Similarly, other unwritten roles exist in almost every company or department. I worked at a company many years ago, where there almost a contest on who arrived early to unlock the main door to our office suite. The first employee to arrive in the morning received kudos for that day. However, this thinking is flawed. What if an employee was dropping off their children in the morning? What if there were employees who simply were not morning people. Or maybe there were those who worked through lunch or were just very efficient with their time during the day? It was an odd but very commonly understood norm. There were even jokes about it. “Sam must have had a tough morning, Maria arrived way before him.”
I worked in another company where motion-activated lights existed. If someone was working in an office, the lights would turn on. If there was no activity, the lights would turn off. Co-workers would enter a colleague’s office just to turn on the lights for a period of time so the higher-ups thought they were there well past the typical work day.
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Withing your organization unwritten rules likely exist. Most of us could describe them within our workplaces but they vary from company to company, and even department to department. It sounds like some may have an expectation that you remain within your office until 5pm, or later on Fridays. Does that mean if you scrolling through your phone, while in the office on a Friday afternoon, would meet this requirement?
There is a concept called “face time.” This descriptor became well known before the video calling tool that we now use. Instead, it means being seen or physically present in the office. However, visibility does not necessarily equate to productivity.
In your situation, I think it is also important to ask who has told you that it would advance your career. Was it your manager? Was it a peer? I think the source of this information is important. Years ago, Jack Welch, the former CEO of GE, author and leadership guru, discussed the importance of visibility in the workplace.
I would consider the source of this request. If others are leaving around 2pm, I am not sure why it is problematic for you to attend a 3pm yoga class.
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