At the end of the workday, many feel the need to check in with their boss before leaving, but workplace norms around this are shifting. A viral TikTok skit, with over 20 million views, humorously questions if it's okay to leave right at 5 p.m. In the video, an employee announces she’s leaving at 5, and the boss sarcastically praises her “work-life balance.” She simply replies that the workday ends at 5.
This sparked a debate in the comments: some say they work strictly their paid hours, leaving at 5 on the dot if ready; others joke about sneaking out early. But in many workplaces, staying past 5 or leaving only after the boss does is an unspoken expectation. Some believe you should arrive 10 minutes early and leave 10 minutes late.
Checking in with your boss can show transparency, but it might also enable toxic bosses to prolong your work unnecessarily. It can reflect a fawn response—suppressing your needs to seek approval—or lead to presenteeism, where staying late hurts your health and the company’s productivity.
In the U.S., where employees already work more hours than in most countries, leaving right at 5 has traditionally been judged negatively. However, attitudes are changing as work-life balance has become a top priority for workers worldwide, surpassing pay for the first time in 2024, according to Randstad’s survey of 26,000 employees. For many, “9 to 5” truly means 9 to 5, regardless of job type.
“If your manager is micromanaging minutes, I don’t want to work for them,” commented one TikTok viewer. Though it’s still an employer’s market now, allowing managers to ask for overtime without hesitation, this won’t last forever. The question of whether bosses should keep employees past 5 is likely to continue.
As one commenter put it, “People don’t quit jobs, they quit managers.”