Arduinna

Posted by Ask a Manager

https://www.askamanager.org/2025/10/it-takes-me-longer-to-do-my-work-why-cant-i-opt-out-of-overtime-pay.html

https://www.askamanager.org/?p=33321

A reader writes:

I have worked in the evolving field of IT all of my four-decade career. Most of my jobs have been exempt from overtime, while my last few tech support / help desk positions have been non-exempt. I’ve always been a slower (and I think, more thorough) worker who needs more time to get my work done and who has no problem working late, even most evenings, to get the job done.

This has been fine in my exempt positions, as I’ve had freedom to work as many hours as I want / need, and supervisors have mostly been quite pleased with my work. In my first couple of non-exempt roles, I would still work longer hours but leave the hours beyond 40 off of my time sheets, unless management had requested something special — and this worked out well, too.

However, in my last non-exempt role, it came to my supervisor’s attention that I was working more than 40 hours a week, and he told me that this must stop. I countered that I don’t mind doing it, and since I leave the extra hours off my time sheet, it doesn’t cost the company anything. But he said I could not do that any longer, as it was a misrepresentation, and that overtime pay would not be approved.

Consequently, I started completing fewer tasks each day and was placed on a performance improvement plan where the main focus was to improve my time management and multi-tasking ability. I was able to make some improvement, but it was deemed insufficient and I was terminated for not meeting the job requirements.

I understand that the letter of the law means that all hours over 40 in one week must be paid at time and a half for non-exempt positions, but many employers will not approve it or might approve for a couple of extra hours but not more, and then look the other way for employees who need more time to complete their work and so leave the rest off their time sheets. Honestly, I’d rather work the extra hours without additional pay, which I did all the time when I was in exempt positions, than be terminated for not meeting job requirements.

So in some cases such as this, I believe the overtime labor laws can be unfair, and that workers should have the right to opt out. What do you think of this?

The problem is that if you give workers the right to opt out from overtime pay requirements, you’ll immediately have situations where they’re pressured to do that by their employers.

In your case, it sounds as if you’d genuinely choose to opt out via your own free will, but many, many people would not and would still end up pressured by their employers to do it anyway. And the more in need of paying work someone is, the more vulnerable they’re likely to be to that pressure.

That’s why the law doesn’t make it optional. And that’s why any responsible employer needs to do what your last one did and tell you that you can’t work unauthorized overtime even if you don’t mind it. They’re still liable for paying you for those hours, even if you try to explicitly excuse them from it. Legally, they’re required to pay you the overtime whether you want it or not … and they could end up paying fines and penalties down the road if they don’t.

In your situation, it sounds like you are really well-suited for exempt positions where you can work additional hours without it triggering mandatory overtime pay, and those are the positions you should look for.

The post it takes me longer to do my work — why can’t I opt out of overtime pay? appeared first on Ask a Manager.

https://www.askamanager.org/2025/10/it-takes-me-longer-to-do-my-work-why-cant-i-opt-out-of-overtime-pay.html

https://www.askamanager.org/?p=33321

Posted by Ask a Manager

https://www.askamanager.org/2025/10/should-i-tell-an-employee-she-should-take-less-time-off-if-she-wants-better-projects.html

https://www.askamanager.org/?p=33081

A reader writes:

I work in an industry notorious for poor work-life balance.

Our company has an unlimited PTO policy, with most people on the team taking about 15-20 days, usually no more than five straight days at a time. (So one week off per quarter, just about.)

I have a team member who has asked for feedback. She wants to grow and be assigned more high-profile, visible projects. The quality of her work is average to slightly above average, so there’s room for growth there. On top of this, the main thing I believe is preventing her from achieving these goals is that people perceive her to be on vacation all the time. I’d say she’ll end up taking around 30 days (six weeks off) this year, and unlike most members of the team, more than a full office week at a time. Management never denies her the days off, and since she’s not on more high-profile projects, the coverage has not been a problem.

Like I said, our industry culture is extreme and we push ourselves to burnout. It’s really not sustainable at the end of the day, so it’s honestly refreshing to see her try to have a personal life. Our office encourages us to have time off (within reason), and because we technically have unlimited PTO, she’s not breaking policy. But her personal life is not aligning with what she wants to achieve professionally. Is it poor advice for me to suggest she should take less vacation to prove she’s capable of handling more visible projects?

Well … this isn’t quite “you can take the time off if you want it, but we’re going to hold it against you,” but it’s close. If she’s taking too much time off within the context of your culture and industry expectations, she deserves to know that. If she keeps asking for time off and it keeps getting approved, it’s not unreasonable that she thinks it’s fine. (And yes, people should look around and observe norms and calibrate accordingly, particularly when it’s a field-wide expectation, but management has a role to play there too.)

Now, maybe the amount of time off she’s taking is fine for her current role, and it’s only a problem if she’s looking to take on different projects. That’s more fair! In that case, you should very clearly spell out how this works in your company. For example: “I want to be up-front that to be assigned to projects like X and Y, you’d likely need to take less time off than you do currently. Right now my sense is that there’s a perception that you’re gone a lot, which would be an obstacle to putting you on more high-profile work. So realistically, you’d need to decide if you’re willing to use less vacation in order to be considered for those projects, or whether that’s not a trade-off that’s worth it to you.”

Think of it as sharing the playbook that everyone else is using, so she can make the right decisions for herself.

For what it’s worth: if the 15-20 days a year that most people take includes sick leave as well as vacation, that’s really low and I’d urge your company to reconsider the way they frame their policy, because that is not what new hires are going to envision when they hear “unlimited time off,” even in an industry notorious for poor work-life balance.

The post should I tell an employee she should take less time off if she wants better projects? appeared first on Ask a Manager.

https://www.askamanager.org/2025/10/should-i-tell-an-employee-she-should-take-less-time-off-if-she-wants-better-projects.html

https://www.askamanager.org/?p=33081