8:01

8:01 am is the hour of corporate Armageddon if I’m not at my desk working. Since my boss doesn’t like to cut things close, he expects me to be there 10 minutes early. I can’t do it. I’m there by 8:00 am, but I can’t bring myself to commit an extra minute of time to that place.

Once he tried to approach me about it. He isn’t one for face-to-face confrontation unless it's consequence free. So instead he asked me if there was a problem with my commute. I wanted to say, “Yeah, the part where I decide whether I want to come into work.” But I still need my job.

So lately my boss has been coming in 5-10 minutes late. This works out for the both of us. I can show up on time and he can believe I turned over a new leaf, one that has me showing up for work 10 minutes early.

I'm sure his tardiness has nothing to do with me. Perhaps the fact that it would cross my mind just goes to show I'm more like my boss than I'd like to admit. It isn't all about me.