Totally a risk vs reward thing on the agents. If a supervisor is hovering (and depending on which supervisor) most of us will be "by the book", although most supes are willing to let us push the timeline a bit. Other factors that go into a CSR pushing the limits is A) where are you seated (back is bad, exit row is terrible as you need to go thru the briefing before push, front is great. B) What type of equipment is it. Airbus is better than Boeing for quick pushes (not sure all the technicals, but I can squeeze a couple extra min on an Airbus over a Boeing. I'm guessing it's got to do with cockpit controls, but specifically, I don't know.) D) where were you seated on inbound aircraft/where did it park relative to my gate. E) How crowded is the terminal/can I see down the hall if a group matching the demographics of my missing passengers is making a serious effort. F) the vibe I get from the crew (pilots/fight attendants.) Communicating with them in advance can give me a good idea if they're on the same page as me. People without checked bags tend to carry on more, which makes their terminal movement slower as well as their seating once at gate slower.

These are all the things I'll consider while still trying to make the on time. If mgmt has authorized a hold, none of these things matter to me, These factors just come in when I'm trying to "push the envelope" by closing late, and still getting the on-time. The "big picture" holds, have different factors, such as availability of next flight for rebooking, taxi congestion, ATC, status, class of service, turn time at downline station, downline connections that have already boarded that a hold could hurt.

There a bunch more that I consider, but they're variables I'm not going to get into.

I se this as a double edged change, like most. Just because there isn't a delay code, doesn't mean mgmt won't be on my back if I am late due to a dcsn made by me. Also, without a hard goal to make, motivation to succeed for many may be lessened. I'm sure many internal processes will be tweaked over time.