Bunk work often? Beware, the boss is keeping track

Regular defaulters can learn some lessons from Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Golmaal where Amol Palekar bunks office to land up at the same stadium where his boss is present.

Most employees who offer excuses like ‘I’m unwell’ or ‘someone died in the family’, think it will not affect them in future. However, there’s reason for them to be worried — bosses have a certain sixth sense which helps them determine intuitively who is lying and who isn’t.

A majority of bosses don’t cross-check the validity of excuses, since they want to maintain a trustworthy relationship. However, HR managers sometimes go the extra-mile to verify.

“Regular bunking sub-consciously affects one’s appraisals. If someone is irregular, it will hamper his or her career even if they are excellent at their work,” says Jesse Patel, a project manager with an e-learning company.

Many complain that it’s because of the bosses and their “unfriendly” behaviour that they choose to bunk work at least once a week.

Rachna Jha, deputy general manager with an IT company, feels that if an employee is unhappy with the boss then they should try and talk it out. “In most cases, work is affected because of someone’s absence. The blame is going to fall on the employee, not the boss.”

‘I was being interrogated by the police’ is the wierdest excuse Vikram Tayde, a manager, has ever heard from his subordinate. “I don’t want people to be chained to their work. If someone gives excuses, I give a friendly but firm warning once, but strict action is taken against repeat offenders,” he says.

HR departments have their own penalties sketched out for regular offenders. “For instance, the fourth time someone comes late to work, we consider it as a half-day and it is deducted from a person’s total paid holdays,” says Jayashree Chaudhry, head of HR in a PR firm.

“Bunking once in a while is okay, since everybody needs a break. But for those who are regular at it, things can get nasty. In my previous workplace, we had to sack an employee,” Chaudhary adds.