As an early bird, this distresses me somewhat.
Management Recruiters International advises that you get more notice and credit for hours put in after the quitting bell than hours put in before others get to work.
MRI president and CEP Bill Olson says: "It's simply true that more notice is taken of people who work late than of people who come in early and as the nation's workforce continues to be reachable 24/7 on their blackberries and cell phones, employees can tend forget the importance of putting in face time at the office."
In newsrooms, work tends to stack up toward the end of shifts and late work is appreciated. However, on assignment desks where stories need to be assigned as soon as the editor gets in, I have seen some reporters get plum opportunities by being the first ones available.
MRI has some tips for early birds. Among them: E-mail bosses to apprise them of situations you have handled or questions that arise as they happen, not just during normal hours, as the e-mail will carry a time stamp.
I would only add, be careful how you do that so you don't give editors the impression that you come to work early so you can bother them with e-mails.
