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Discussion

Leaving early for lunch

Hello everyone,

I work for a small private family practice, the only providers are myself and the physician that owns the practice. I am salary.

Our lunch is scheduled from 11:00 to 11:45. Sometimes, if I am finished with patients I will leave for lunch at 10:50. I typically return at 11:50. I never leave the office before my patient is out of the building and am always back to see my 12 o'clock patient on time. 

In the morning we start seeing patients at 7:00. I am usually in the office by 6:45.

In the afternoon our last patient is usually out of the office by 3:00. Our office closes at 4:00. Sometimes I will leave 1-2 min early.

Apparently this is a problem. Looking for input on whether or not this would be an issue elsewhere ? 

Additional things to note; we have 1-2 staff meetings during our lunch each month. That is 9-18 hours of extra time a year that I give. Also I spend a significant amount of time working at home as most providers do.

Thanks!

Shannon

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    • Expert

    I've worked for the same practice for 19 years. I don't really nitpick that much on the time. At least in my experience, its expected that you stick to the schedule. If 45 minutes is lunch, then if you leave early you return in 45 minutes. As to the meetings, it seems like you are already taking an extra 15 minutes for lunch so it doesn't seem out of the ordinary to ask you to attend meetings. 

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    • Author

    I appreciate your input. I realize there is a lot of context missing here. 

    I work for a very small private practice and am paid below average for my community. During the hiring process it was brought up as a perk of position that when the office was slow we could leave early here and there. It was worth it for me to make less money and have more flexibility and better work life balance.

    I take the extra 15 minutes 1-2x a week at the most and only during our slow season. I live 5 min away and go straight home to open my computer and continue working. I guess what bothers me most is it became a problem out of the blue after 3 years. 

    My workplace is unique and I am lucky in many ways. I'm not sure I'm going to find anyone with similar experience that can give me their perspective but it does help to know what may be expected elsewhere. 

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    I suggest you talk to your employer and find out why they have a problem with your schedule.  Is there something they need you to do that you are not doing?  Is it a perception issue?  The best way to deal with these things is to have a frank conversation.  Best wishes.

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    snf248 said:

    I appreciate your input. I realize there is a lot of context missing here. 

    I work for a very small private practice and am paid below average for my community. During the hiring process it was brought up as a perk of position that when the office was slow we could leave early here and there. It was worth it for me to make less money and have more flexibility and better work life balance.

    I take the extra 15 minutes 1-2x a week at the most and only during our slow season. I live 5 min away and go straight home to open my computer and continue working. I guess what bothers me most is it became a problem out of the blue after 3 years. 

    My workplace is unique and I am lucky in many ways. I'm not sure I'm going to find anyone with similar experience that can give me their perspective but it does help to know what may be expected elsewhere. 

    I don't mean to be rude, but it doesn't matter if you live X miles away, you arrive X minutes early, and you leave X minutes late or if you are in a big or small clinic, or taking home work. This has nothing to do with allowing you to leave just a tad bit earlier for lunch or have a few minutes longer.

    Now onto the topic. I feel like they're just being nit picky. Who is actually the one that has issues with it? The doctor or is it the clinic manager doing payroll? As FullGlass said, just be upfront and ask what are the issues with a few minutes or or later. But at the end of the day, it goes back to the whole "clock in" and "clock out" time frame and you should be abiding by your employer's attendance policy. Ask for clarity if you are able to leave early for lunch or at the end of the day if your work is finished? Whoever has the issue, maybe this wasn't brought to his/her attention? Sometimes simply just saying, "hey I'm done for the day, I'll see you later" can be all he/she wants. But yeah, you gotta sit and talk with whoever has the issue.

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    • Author

    Thanks everyone. The doctor and I have straightened things out. I appreciate the input. 

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