Your best friend is on the crew now, and everyone is watching what he gets.
Before you give your buddy anything, ask yourself whether you'd give the same to all eight.
Friday afternoon, your buddy asks to knock off twenty minutes early for his daughter's game. The job can spare him today. What do you tell him?
Yes, out in the open. It's the answer anyone on the crew would get.
No. After the morning he rolled in late, he needs to see you won't bend for him.
Yes, but keep it quiet so nobody else starts asking.
Run the test. On a day the job can spare them, anyone on the crew would get twenty minutes for their own child's game, so he gets it too, out in the open. Turning him down to look tough is the same favoritism turned around, and the crew reads it the same way. A quiet yes has to stay quiet because it's a favor you couldn't give all eight.