Employee forced to stay late for optics, puts in hours of OT for doing nothing: 'Well, you asked me to stay late!'

Author image for Ben Weiss
Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Apr 2, 2025 8:00 AM EDT

It's remarkable how many elements of the workplace prioritize optics over output. Just a few years ago, it felt like we were reaching a cultural reckoning when it came to workplace dynamics, and now, given how hard it is out there just to get decent employment, it's hard not to feel like we have regressed. At one point, we were talking about all the ways in which employees were advocating for themselves in the workplace, and there were even some signs that they were being heard. Whether it was remote or hybrid work, appropriate salary increases, or better benefits, employees were starting to gain the upper hand for the first time in a long time… until the seesaw fell back into management's favor.

It's all about optics again. Employees aren't expected just to do the work and do it well anymore. Now, employees like this author are feeling the pressure to be performative with their work. They might feel like they have to take on more responsibilities within their current positions in order to advocate for well-deserved pay bumps. Keep scrolling below for this author's tale of having to stay late just for the sake of optics.

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    Cheezburger Image 10488370432
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    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • This employee was forced to stay late even though he had completed all his tasks and responsibilities and was given no extra work to complete. It wasn't even an all-hands-on-deck situation where he needed to pitch in to help out other coworkers (even then, staying late should be optional). This was just how the employee's boss was. He felt that a good employee stayed late no matter what and regardless of how efficient they might be at their job. 

    So, the employee decided to comply, albeit maliciously. He took out a copy of a book he had always wanted to read and started to page through it on company time until he put in several hours of overtime. Once his boss saw how he was using that extra time, he finally decided to chill out with the lateness obsession.

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    "Boss demands overtime pay for zero work?? Okay!!"

    I used to work for a company where the boss had this habit of demanding that we stay late, even when there was absolutely no work left to be done. It was one of
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    those toxic environments where productivity was measured by the hours you spent at your desk rather than the actual output of your work.
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    One day, after wrapping up all my tasks well before the end of the day, my boss came over and told me that I needed to stay late because "that's just how things are done around here." Mind you, there was literally nothing left for me to do.
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    Now, instead of arguing or trying to reason with him, I decided to play along with his ridiculous demand for overtime pay.
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    I nodded, grabbed a book I had been meaning to read, and settled back into my chair. For the next two hours, I sat at my desk, flipping through pages, occasionally pretending to jot down notes, and looking as busy as possible.
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    At the end of those two hours, my boss came by to check on me, expecting to see me toiling away at some imaginary task. Instead, he found me reading a novel. He looked puzzled and asked, "What are you doing?"
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    With a straight face, I replied, "Well, you asked me to stay late, so I figured I might as well put in some overtime. This book has been on my reading list for a while."
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    Needless to say, my boss was speechless. He couldn't really argue with me since he had asked me to stay late, and I was technically still on the clock.
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    From that day forward, he never asked me to stay late unless there was actual work to be done. Malicious compliance at its finest.
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    TL;DR: Boss demanded I stay late for no reason, so I decided to put in overtime by reading a book at my desk.
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    Cheezburger Image 10488371712
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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    JustSomeGuy_56 9 hr. ago. I had a contracting gig with a large financial services company. My little group was part of a much bigger department that generated the annual tax forms. They were incredibly busy from January 2 through April.
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    The guy who ran the department issued an edict that everyone had to put in 10 hours each day and work Saturdays if necessary.
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    Our little group had nothing to do with the tax statements but people complained when we were seen leaving at 5PM. So we were told to stay late as well. I asked if that applied to me and and the other contractors and was told "Everyone. No exceptions"
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    We were happy to do so since we were being paid by the hour. When we submitted our invoice for January he almost wet his pants and decided that the OT rule didn't apply to us.
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    grauenwolf 9 hr. ago I miss working for the military. My job was to test software. I knew it was broken, but the logs were empty. So many a night I spent reading a book and just waiting for it to crash with the hope. of I'd catch it in the act. I never did figure the thing out, but I got a lot of reading in.
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    IlikethequietZeppo 8 hr. ago I had a colleague that finished at 4pm. People got I off because she was always leaving "early". No, she got there before her 8am start, they just didn't see her working until they casually strolled in some time after 9.
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    One day, when big boss (who she worked directly for) was away, manager was in charge. He sneered you can't leave before 5pm.
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    "Ok, let me go and talk to our CFO and see about overtime rates. I work from 8 until 4pm. I manage my time well, and get all my work done."
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    He spluttered about being salaried and therefore no overtime rates applied.
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    With perfect timing big boss called from overseas. I gleefully transferred the call to her. Best thing about a fairly open plan office, is you could hear everything from the reception desk, also one of the worst things too.
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    I heard her say " manager insists I stay until 5pm, with no overtime pay, or reason mentioned. Have you got a particular task requiring me to stay?....... He wants to talk to you face"
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workplace-stories work stories toxic-workplace job work employees toxic-boss overworked-employees Horrible Bosses overtime company toxic-work-environment
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