Can boss control down time?
Hey Yall,
I'm normally a teacher, but things felll through last minute this year and I needed another job temporarily. I chose to work at a bank as a teller so I could study languages during the slow times. Ive been doing so since I started 6 months ago. My manager is a hyper micro manager. Everyone knows it and in my six months, already 7 people have quit or transfered due to her control issues. Just recently she realized I've been studying and has threatened to send me home from work if she catches me doing it again. I literally just practice writing and mentally saying words I wrote down in a notebook I use for work. She tells me if I'm not using my down time to memorize bank policies and products that I am actively burning company money.
Point being, can she even do that? Arent I protected since I am performing above my peers in work metrics and am fullfilling all of the jobs expectations? Whenever she asks me to do something above and beyond, I do it without complaint. She just gets mad if I finish and she sees me from across the room not actively looking at my computer screen. She also says if I'm not looking at my screen or talking to my peers for any reason then I am zoning out or working on outside work that should be done at home and not work. Again, she is a hyper micro manager.
Thanks for any input.
Edit: I see I explained things poorly. I completely understand a boss has the right to give you work to do during slow times. Thats understandable. I am refering specifically to whether they can send you home for doing something after you have completed all their required tasks, there are no further instructions to follow, no one around to ask for further instructions, and what you are doing does not distract or impede your ability to complete further tasks such as helping a customer. Also, when I say studying. I am refering to simply copying words over and over again on a notebook next to the information I wrote down for work. In no way could a customer tell I would be doing something not required by work. Its not like I have a textbook out or something. The only way the boss ever caught me after these 6 months of consistently doung it was I left it open by accident when going to help another employee with something.