First and foremost, I don't worry about someone's hours at all if they are producing according to their role. During this time, I am clear on what I expect them

First and foremost, I don't worry about someone's hours at all if they are producing according to their role. During this time, I am clear on what I expect them to achieve, and I'm always open to discussion as it relates to pushing/rearranging deadlines. If I find that they aren't producing or getting things done, obviously I need to find out why. One of the things I look at is hours, which I find works well. I learn that a) this person is not only watching the clock, but being creative with ways they can avoid actually doing work while pretending to be busy, b)they need better training/help in order to do their job and productivity has nothing to do with hours, c) we're being unfair with our expectations. The topic of culture is one that often arises here on HN, and I'd argue that there is nothing more damning to a culture than having one person on a team that checks out at 5 without realizing he/she has a team member struggling. A little 'hey, I'm about to head out, can I help you with anything?' goes a long way. In a past life I managed an interactive department, so I'm not just talking about developers here.