Boss reprimands employee for leaving at 5:10 when his hours are 8:30-5: 'It's the worst work culture I've ever encountered'

What if you got reprimanded for leaving on time? 

Every company has different expectations for when you can leave the office. For different jobs, there are different standards for the way you use your time. Some companies don't mind when you leave as long as you get your work done. Some have strict rules about when you can clock out. Of course, if you're hourly, then your clock-in and clock-out times matter a lot. But if you're salaried, then you should be afforded a bit more flexibility. You don't want to take advantage of the system, but you don't have to bend over backwards to spend every minute clocked in, especially when it might be eating into your personal life. And if you've already been there a full workday, you don't want to feel pressured to stay just for the sake of it. How much extra work are you getting done in that time frame anyway?

Some bosses, though, are more concerned with the appearance of productivity than they are with productivity itself. They don't want you to appear as though you're slacking off, even if you're just leaving at the appropriate time. There is also a weird game of chicken that happens where nobody wants to be the first one to leave. Everyone wants to prove their loyalty and status, and they think of accomplishing that by staying an extra 40 minutes. But this is needless competition and doesn't end up helping anyone.