I'm the CEO of a major IT consultancy firm - and I'm sick of hearing employees asking for time off work

• The CEO of a major IT consultancy has sparked debate by saying he "doesn't care" about employees' requests to take time off
• He believes in trusting his team to manage their workload without constant oversight
• His viral post highlighted his philosophy of treating employees like adults
• Rob Dance advocates for flexibility in the workplace and the importance of balancing work and personal life
• Many initially misunderstood his message but later agreed that autonomy and trust lead to happier, more productive teams

The CEO of a major IT consultancy firm has expressed frustration with employees requesting to leave early, attend doctor's appointments and take long lunches.

Rob Dance, 41, shared the seemingly controversial message, saying he doesn't want to be bothered by such requests because he simply "doesn't care.”

A father of two and the CEO of a firm with over 100 employees, Dance clarified that he “trusts” his team to deliver results without constant oversight.

His now-viral post said: "Things I'm sick of hearing from my employees: Can I leave early today? I'll be late in the morning. My child is sick, can I rush off? I've got a doctor's appointment tomorrow, is that okay?

"I'm going to be late back from lunch, I've got some things to sort.’ I don’t care. I hired you for a job and I fully TRUST you to get it done."

Dance, from Cowbridge, south Wales, said the flexibility to take time for important things should be a standard in a modern workplace.

He said: "Lots of employees may have been conditioned, through school or previous jobs, to be scared to say they need to do something. But my philosophy is - if you recruit or hire someone you have to trust them from day one.

"I follow the same rules as them - I wouldn't ask my team for permission to take time off, and I lead by example. If I leave work for something I always make sure I'm up to date on work, and I expect the same from my staff so no balls will be dropped in their absence.

"But I don't need them to ask me for permission - I don't think they should have to. Treat people like adults."

The posts went viral on both X and LinkedIn, having been viewed 14.4 million times on the former. Some people failed to initially read the whole post - assuming Rob was against allowing staff flexibility for personal needs - because he said "I don't care".

But after encouraging people to read the whole post, many were in agreement.

‘The profit will take care of itself’

One commenter said: "I have a similar approach. My team are all remote. I have a Teams first thing…. This is what I need done today, is there anything stopping you doing that? No, OK I’m available if you need me.

"They will go to their kids’ school swimming, doctors, shopping, I don’t care. As long as they do the agreed workload in the day it’s fine."

Another agreed: "No tolerance means employees will eventually leave and you’ll pay to retrain someone else. Need flexibility, especially either young families and kids."

A third added: "None of my team members ever say those things because they work flexible hours from home. They need to do their job and do it well, but don't have to destroy their lifestyle in the process."

Reflecting on the viral post, Dance, who is currently working on a new business venture focusing on work flexibility, said: "One thing that cropped up is that it can be different with different roles and industries.

"But I think there should be a degree of flexibility in any role - if someone has an emergency or childcare issue, you need to prioritise their life over their work, no matter what their job is.

“If someone has to rush off, they know they need to pick up whatever they need to do after. it's not about leaving you high and dry. As long as they do what they need to do to keep clients happy and the team happy.

"A lot of comments were around communication too - I'm not saying don't communicate about what you're doing. It's about not needing to get permission. A lot of people found it refreshing and were encouraged some companies work in that way.

"If you have a happy team, the profit will take care of itself. If you give people autonomy they would deliver more than you could ever imagine. By adopting this approach, you’ll have a happier team and it’ll pay its way back to you."

Join the conversation in the comments section and share your thoughts on Dance's approach to workplace flexibility and trust. Do you believe in empowering employees with autonomy, or do you think more structured oversight is necessary?