I have a new department director and I am an hourly employee.

19 Comments

1. Liz MilneJanuary 2,2026 at 11:09PM UTC

   Go see him early in the morning. Tell him, 'Hey, I've got an appointment this evening at [ten minutes after clocking out time] - was there anything you wanted to go over with me now?' If he chats to you then, cool. If he wants to leave it to the end of the day, then he's actively blocking you from leaving work on time, but not wanting to pay you for it: call him out.

2. AnonymousJanuary 2,2026 at 11:35PM UTC

   sadly, he doesn’t come into work until 8:30-9am. I have also said send me calendar invites but he doesn’t do that either. Usually he doesn’t have anything important to say, because he’s new to the company. He doesn’t know all the processes or what I actually do.

3. Liz MilneJanuary 3,2026 at 10:59PM UTC

   ugh. I would still insist I have an appointment after work every day, and ask him to email me so whatever he wanted is ready and waiting for you first thing as soon as you're back on the clock...

   I HATE bosses that expect people to work for free...

4. Diane KingJanuary 3,2026 at 1:25PM UTC

   This isn’t about time management. It’s about respecting that you’re an hourly employee. If meetings regularly run past your scheduled hours or are initiated right before you’re expected to clock out, that’s a boundary and compensation issue.

   I’d recommend addressing it directly and in writing. For example: “I’m happy to meet, but since I’m hourly, I’ll need meetings scheduled during my working hours or approved as paid overtime.”

   You’re not being difficult by stating this. You’re being clear. If he continues to disregard it, that’s something to escalate, not tolerate.

5. GirlBossanova934974January 3,2026 at 2:20PM UTC

   This Director is very inexperienced and not effective. Must have been somebody's buddy or pal that enabled him to get in the door. I would remind him of overtime and that sort of thing. Holding hourly employees past their shift times requires extra pay and that sort of thing.

6. AnonymousJanuary 3,2026 at 3:19PM UTC

   Ugh! I had a boss that did this! In my case, he would wait until I actually clocked out and was walking out the door! He'd run out saying "Hey, got a minute?" This happened regularly and his "minutes" were 30+. This was all time that I did not get paid for. Not to mention he knew that I rode to work with a friend who worked around the corner and would make comments like "I bet your friend won't be happy I kept you so long." He literally did it just to be a jerk. Not once was there anything pressing that needed to be discussed. The last time he did it I said "Sure, give me just a second to clock back in." He was getting an additional 2 hours from me a week, unpaid, and I was done with it. As soon as I said that he tried to tell me that it was "off the clock" so I told him that was fine we could talk in the morning once I clocked in. He tried to tell me it couldn't wait, so I again told him I would be happy to sit down and talk with him after clocking back in. He knew he was taking advantage of me and when he refused to allow me to clock back in, I let him know that my work day was over and I left. He sent me a text message about 5 minutes later "suspending" me for one day and when I returned the day after my "suspension" he terminated me saying I was not a "team player". I estimated that over my time there I gave him close to 100 hours of time "off the clock". This didn't include the "working" lunches that occured once a week that I refused to clock out for so he manually changed my timecard; giving him 1 1/2 hours of my time a week. I ended up contacting my states labor division and he was forced to pay me for all of the working lunches, which at that time came out to almost 24 hours of overtime.

   My point is this: If you give them an inch, they will take a mile and will continue to do so until you speak up.

7. BarbaraJanuary 3,2026 at 4:53PM UTC

   Terrible story. Sorry you had to deal with this. I wonder why you didn’t ask HR to intervene? I assume they would have educated your manager and what he did to you was retaliation.

8. AnonymousJanuary 6,2026 at 7:26PM UTC

   Unfortunately there was no HR. It was a newer company owned and operated by two men. I did go to the other owner, prior to this particular incident, and I was told that if I didn't like the way they did things I could go elsewhere. At that time I immediately started looking for a new job and had already been interviewing at other places when this happened. Luckily I was offered a position within a couple of days of being let go, so it turned out okay.

9. Nicole VanMersbergenJanuary 3,2026 at 8:06PM UTC

   Sorry you had to work for such an a hole. So ridiculous to suspend you and then fire you because he doesn't have it together.

10. AnonymousJanuary 3,2026 at 10:37PM UTC

    My manager is doing something’s similar to yours. He doesn’t talk about anything during our one on one meetings, which is saying he isn’t going to development me. He us usually late or cancels at last minute or cuts our meeting in half

    i also have things I am waiting on for work, that are given to me at the end of the day all the time now.

11. AnonymousJanuary 4,2026 at 4:10AM UTC

    Could you be proactive and call him an hour or two before time to leave? Make an excuse that you have a child care issue, family issue, an appointment, or other commitment and you must leave on time if he objects to the reminder. Let him know that you will work hard and endeavor to exceed his expectations during work hours, while outside of work, you have other things that you must do. You don't schedule other things during your work day unless absolutely necessary, so he should not expect you to do things outside your work hours on a regular basis.

12. AnonymousJanuary 5,2026 at 1:38PM UTC

    This is the best answer. Focus on delivery and the "other things" = family, school, extracurricular activities w/children, etc.

13. AnonymousJanuary 4,2026 at 1:18PM UTC

    Yikes. Have you tried scheduling the meeting earlier, setting an agenda, and encouraging them to let you run the 1:1? By what you wrote it might not work as your "director " appears low EQ but hey you can try!

14. Velma WrightJanuary 4,2026 at 2:04PM UTC

    I understand, I am currently dealing with the same situation and I see it as a lack of respect, especially when things can be done not at the last minute.

15. AprilJanuary 4,2026 at 5:25PM UTC

    I have an option that I hope you will consider. You note that the manager is new if so, this is a great opportunity for you to meet with him. Yes for you to meet with him put some time on his calendar or catch him early in the morning with a symbol. Do you have five minutes?

    Start by acknowledging that he is new and still getting his footing. State that you want to create a work relationship that works well for both of you considering that I need to leave at a certain time of day. I’d like to establish a cadence in meetings and communication that works so that I am able to give you what you need and I am able to get from you what I need as a leader no need to talk about his computer skills that are lacking but perhaps is something that you can leverage I’m sure he knows his computer skills are lacking. This is an opportunity to take the higher road to be an asset to your new manager.

16. AnonymousJanuary 6,2026 at 2:51PM UTC

    telling your new manager that you know he's "new" and "still getting his footing" is a sure way to make him hate you.

17. AnonymousJanuary 4,2026 at 11:46PM UTC

    Why not take control and put the meeting on both of your calendars as a regular thing. Then sit down with him and let him know that if the meeting does not need to happen that he can decline it. Reinforce your boundary at end of day and if he does not respect it then leave when you usually do. Be sure you memorialize all of this into an email to you and him and your commitment on both sides to this new time sync. Problem solved!

18. Stephanie MyersJanuary 5,2026 at 7:29AM UTC

    Hello, since your boss is bad at time management, you need to call him instead of waiting for his call. This will take some patience in the beginning since he is not used to you calling so expect that he won't be prepared. So people do not know about a boundary because you have not set one or told him about it. Be firm and simply state why you need an earlier call if he insist that he will call you and not vice versa. Ask your director what the main topic are to be discussed in the next meeting and send out an email stating just that to all who will be attending. This way, you can get the main topics over with in the beginning (you will have to help move things along at first). A lot is riding on you (at first) to make the necessary changes, but in the end it will be worth it because you two biggest challenges will be dealt with and addressed.

19. AnonymousJanuary 6,2026 at 3:37AM UTC

    Boundaries begin with you. As you are walking out, tell him you're on your way to a meeting outside of work but will be happy to speak him tomorrow. When meetings go long let him know you have a hard stop at 1 hour but would be happy to pick up tomorrow where you left off. It's up to you to respect your boundaries. It's a sign of professionalism.