As much as I hate to admit it, I have to side with the management here. Why should there be one rule for a receptionist and another for a middle manager? That's not fair at all!

I'm split down the middle on this one. The best advice I can offer is to just sit at your desk and zone out.

Have a great holiday!

Where does "fair" come into it? If you have a job that you can only do from your desk, from 9 to 5, then that's your choice. Meanwhile the IT department has to balance their vacations and divide up pager duty to see who gets to take care of the system when it goes down in 3am. What do you think most receptionists would say if you told them "Ok, it's a 24hr job, so here's your pager, and whenever it rings, you have answer it."

A receptionist stays at her desk, presumably, as long as "the office" is open, whether that's to answer phones or to greet visitors. When the whistle blows she can switch on the voice mail, lock the doors, and walk away..and not think about work again until tomorrow. An IT operations person is on 24hour duty, and may be called upon to work at any hour of the day if needed.

I can do my job anywhere and anytime, sometimes on my couch, sometimes at a coffee shop, sometimes on the train to and from work. "Leaving early" to me really just means "changing scenery at a different time of day."

The people who have to "hang around to pick up phones" in the afternoon before a holiday should be chosen by random drawing of everyone in the office (including CEO) each time. Why leave it to the low-level admins? Little other work is getting done, and probably very few people will be calling anyway.

we all make choices me must live with. if you're a clerical person because you only have a two-year degree then i don't fell bad that you can't take as many smoke breaks because you are at the mercy of the phone. on the flipside, i can't feel bad when an IT guy's beeper goes off in the middle of a barbecue because the network server is down. or the doctor. or the lawyer. or the plumber. we are paid to do our jobs and whatever comes along with it. working late stinks but it was your choice when you chose your profession.

here's my deal - i carpool with someone that works for another company. he's not getting out early. my company is letting us out 2 hours early provided we take a half hour lunch and someone stays until 6pm. since it doesn't cost the company any extra money, i worked a deal where i work my regular shift AND get the whole hour for lunch. that's just me.

I think if people are getting out early, then why do you have to answer the phones? There is nobody there to take the call!! Close early, and let EVERYONE go!! That is the only fair thing to do. It doesnt matter how long you went to school. You all work for the same company.