Cutting in line and leaving work early are taboo actions you typically want to avoid. However, in this episode, I’ll share how to get away with it, without upsetting anyone.
Tyler Small: In this episode of Hacking Emotional Intelligence, I'm going to tell you how to cut in line and leave work early using your emotional intelligence without ticking anyone off. I'm Tyler Small, and this is Hacking Emotional Intelligence. I cannot remember the book I was reading. It talked about some research that had been done of people cutting in line to use a copy machine.
[00:00:25] Yes. Back in the day we used to use copy machines. Anyway, in order to use the copy machine. If someone was in line and they wanted to cut to the front, it was found to be socially appropriate.
[00:00:39] If only they gave a reason and it could be any reason they could say. Oh, is it okay if I cut? I just have a few things to copy or they could say, is it okay if I cut in line, I need to go to a meeting or they could say, is it okay if I cut in line, I need to make a few color copies. It didn't really matter what the reason was.
[00:01:02] As long as they gave a reason everyone was okay with it. Now I've ran into the same thing. In one work environment I was in and. Sometimes you needed to leave work early as all people do. And of course leaving work at two o'clock every day probably wouldn't be the most productive thing to do unless you're coming in super early, perhaps.
[00:01:26] But what I found was with this team, the team dynamic was if you gave a reason, it was okay. Hey guys, just so you know, I've got to leave at two today for a dentist appointment. So let me know if you need anything before then or, Hey guys, I'm going to my daughter's dance recital. I've got to leave at two o'clock today.
[00:01:50]Let me know if you need anything before then I'll help you out. Hey guys, I've got to leave at two o'clock today. I'm taking the kids out to the. Wherever. And as long as there is a reason, then it seems to be okay. What bothered people much worse was when there was a five o'clock cutoff.
[00:02:11] And these mind you are, this was a group of salaried people that were not working by the hour. And acting as if they were just clocking in and clocking out. And every single day it was the same leave time. That was more bothersome than the person who occasionally left early and sometimes left later.
[00:02:32]The reason that I'm bringing this up is because a lot of people come to me and they say my boss wants me to be a workaholic. My boss wants me to work these late hours. And in some industries there may be a lot of pressure in order to move up the chain to just. Be at work forever. So I think is a terrible model.
[00:02:55] And there's a lot of, there's a lot of controversy around that kind of pressure in a workplace. However, there are some things you can do, even in that environment. One of them is, as I said, just to give a reason, Hey, I've got to do this family thing today. I've got to take off early. I'll be leaving at three if that's okay.
[00:03:17] Let me know if you need anything before then. , I just wanted to check in and make sure everything was okay. If it's your, if it's your boss, of course, it's more of a, Hey, is it okay if
[00:03:26]and a tip here that I would add is to ask, Hey, is there anything today that I can do for you? That would be a five-star experience. And then just listen and find out what that would be and get that thing done and say, Hey, okay, I'll tell you what I'm trying to get out of here by three o'clock today. But my goal will be to finish that before I leave today.
[00:03:49] Would that be a five star experience for you, even though I'm leaving early
[00:03:53]And if your boss answers and doesn't seem fully confident,
[00:03:57]then say, is there anything else that I can do to make this a five-star experience for you, even though I'm leaving early so that, they can, you can do that thing I'm taking away.
[00:04:07] So I want to give back right then working extra hard to get that thing done. And. Of course the things that you take on, you want it to be within your influence and making those commitments and finishing things more quickly and more effectively than normal can be a great way to create great experiences for those around you.
[00:04:28] While in fact leaving work early.
[00:04:31] And if it's your peers, you don't want to tick off your peers, right? Hey, you guys, I've taken off at three for a family thing today.
[00:04:37] Want to know if there's anything I could do for you before then? Just so I don't leave you hanging, and you're expressing how you want to be a good team player in that you're expressing how you're motivated in your highly intentional about serving their needs at home, helping them out, not leaving them in the lurch.
[00:04:54]Another thing you can do is that if people are at work for a long number of hours, more than eight or nine hours during the day, you can actually do things during the day. You might notice that people go and pick up their dry cleaning, or they go meet a friend for lunch.
[00:05:14] These are things that are normal to happen within a weekday, especially if you're in a salaried environment where you're not pinned down to a minute by minute schedule.
[00:05:24] If you are on an hourly schedule, then I highly recommend staying on that hourly schedule and making sure that you're as productive as possible for every minute of it. As you move up the chain and into other parts of the organization, , you may have more of an opportunity to be a little more flexible with your time, and that's when sometimes people start expecting you.
[00:05:49] To be there for longer hours.
[00:05:52]So don't be afraid to run a couple of errands during the day every now and then go to a dentist appointment, et cetera, in order to get life done. Just make sure that you're fulfilling all of your commitments to your peers, your boss, your direct reports, et cetera, in order to maintain those expectations.
[00:06:12] Another thing I would recommend and definitely be sensitive about this, is to consider taking PTO when your boss takes PTO. Now, if you have a post that must be maintained in order to serve customers, clients, employees, and that's how your team is organized. Then of course, you may have to spread yourselves out and take PTO at different times.
[00:06:36] If it's more project-based and the projects can sit then taking PTO at the same time as your boss means that every time your boss is in the office, they see you, they have a visual of you working. It wasn't that you were gone and left everyone hanging for a whole week. Now, I'm not saying that you should feel guilty about being on PTO and,
[00:07:00] leaving everyone hanging, but that is a perception that can develop. If you don't manage the expectations
[00:07:07]and going on PTO, when your boss's on PTO is just one way to do that.
[00:07:14]there's one other benefit to taking PTO and your boss's taking PTO and it's that you don't feel tempted to contact your boss. If something goes wrong or you're hung up on a project. And likewise, they are not going to be tempted to contact you because neither of you are working on those projects.
[00:07:37] I hope this helps you manage your work-life integration.
[00:07:42]cut in line and leave work early. I'm Tyler Small, and this is Hacking Emotional Intelligence.