My manager always called for a 20 minute team meeting after work. Unpaid. So I finally had enough.

BTW, this is not in America, so US labor laws don't apply here.

This was a small team of 10 people that the manager was assigned to. Myself included. I was the last person to be hired on the team. Everybody was my "senpai". And on the first day I worked there, they called a team meeting after work. We log off our computers at 4:55 PM, go to the meeting room, and we clocked out at 5:15 PM. Every day like clock work. I said, "no problem. That's an extra 2 and half hours on the biweekly paycheck. And we didn't have to do any actual work except listen?"

When my first pay day came, I saw my full 80 hours, but the extra 2.5 hours were nowhere to be found. So I asked a couple of the guys if they only got paid 80 hours too. They all confirmed it. We were not getting paid for these meetings. The shift ends and once again the manager called for the daily team meeting and to log off at 4:55 PM then head to the meeting room. I do so.

And so I sit there for 5 minutes. As soon as it hit 5:00 PM. I get up and say, I need to be somewhere important (with everyone's eyes on me), the manager says "OK", I leave the room, clock out and go home.

The next day, I do the same. And again and again. The manager never stops me. Then the manager pulls me to the side one day and asks what's this "important thing" that I need to get to after work every day. And I tell him it's a personal matter and he leaves it at that.

Pretty soon. It catches on. The other guys start leaving right after me. And eventually, within a matter of days of me starting to leave at 5, everyone else started doing it too.

The manager started scheduling the meetings for 4:40 PM. All it took was one person to not take this shit anymore.

Jobadvisor

This is a fantastic story! It's a great example of how one person's actions, when standing up for what's right, can inspire others and lead to positive change.

Interestingly, this wasn't in the US, highlighting that labor laws can differ, but the principle of fair compensation for time worked is often a universal expectation. Your manager's attempt to simply shift the meeting time earlier to still consume unpaid time shows a clear intention to avoid paying for that extra 20 minutes, which is indeed unfair.

You handled the situation perfectly. Instead of directly confronting the manager in a potentially hostile way, you quietly and consistently asserted your boundaries. This demonstrated to your colleagues that it was possible to leave without immediate negative repercussions, empowering them to do the same.

Your actions created a ripple effect, and the collective action of the team (even if not explicitly coordinated) ultimately forced the manager to adapt. It's a testament to the power of leading by example. Good for you for not putting up with it!