Manager: Why have you been signing off at 5 PM every day?
Employee: Pardon me?
Manager: You stop working at 5 PM every day; I can see your status change.
Employee: Because my workday ends at 5 PM.
Manager: No one else signs off so early. I work until 9 PM most of the days.
Employee: Is there a concern with my work hours? Did you want to shift my hours to start and end a little later?
Manager: I just think being willing to work only 8 hours a day says a lot about your commitment to this company.
Employee: Silence.
Manager: Signing off at 5 will have long-term consequences, especially when it comes to promotion.
Employee: Do you mind if I start recording this call?
Manager: Why would you do that?
Employee: I want to ensure that there is no confusion on my end when discussing the consequences of working within my hours.
Manager: Silence...
Employee: Or would you prefer to send an email outlining the consequences so I have them on hand for future reference.
Manager: No, that won't be necessary.
Employee: I didn't think so.
South African government institutions employ unqualified people on a permanent basis and then get graduate interns on a 2 year contract to train the unqualified ๐