You notice that one employee stops work an hour before quitting time although he produces as much work as his fellow workers. As supervisor you should:

• A. Assign the employee to more interesting work
• B. Assign the employee more work than can possibly be done
• C. Inform the employee that you expect one to work until quitting time
• D. Do or say nothing to the employee

Answer: (C)

Setting clear expectations about staying for the full workday and enforcing them is essential to maintain fairness and proper discipline on the team. Even though the employee’s output matches others, leaving an hour early without a stated reason can create a gap in time-on-task and set a precedent that undermines consistent standards.

The best action is to communicate directly that the standard is to work until quitting time and that leaving early is not acceptable unless there's an approved arrangement. This reaffirms policy, treats all colleagues equally, and reduces the chance that others will imitate the behavior. It also opens a chance to address any legitimate concerns privately.

Assigning more interesting work wouldn’t address the time issue, and overloading the workload could be unfair and counterproductive. Doing nothing would let the habit continue and can erode team norms.