English Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
Google does not really show anything re meaning of this phrase:
I always ask this question of the measurement advocates: "If you're so enamored with measuring people why don't you tell them you'll let them go home when they meet their bogie?" Most people would be home by 2:00 P.M. in a normal workday. -Stratton
Source: https://www.quality-assurance-solutions.com/Deming-Point-11.html
What does "meet their bogie" really mean?
I'm going to try take a stab at this. That website deals with business management. The quote itself apparently comes from a person called Stratton. I don't know who he is, but they do mention William Edwards Deming, who was management consultant.
The quote is supposed to be a criticism of the management method of measuring success or efficiency by production quotas (the so called 'measurement advocates').
Bogey is a common term in golf for being one shot over par (thanks JonLarby). But in some dictionaries I found the meaning of "a number of shots required".
b. obsolete a standard score for a hole or course, regarded as one that a good player should make.
Collins Dictionary
b. Chiefly British The number of strokes that a good player is likely to need to finish a golf hole or course.
American Heritage Dictionary
So I infer that "to meet their bogie" is an idiom or metaphor originating from golf which in this case means for a worker to meet their required production quota. When they do so they may go home at 2 o'clock.
I'm not a hundred percent about this analysis, but I figured I'd give it a shot.
