‘I’m expected to show up even if I have no clients, just to hang around and work for free’: Boss demands part-time personal trainer to work unpaid hours, pushing their limit to brink of quitting

Author image for Etai Eshet
Etai Eshet • Editor
Apr 7, 2025 5:00 AM EDT

Some jobs promise flexibility and balance, but then turn around and demand you perform the professional equivalent of burpees on repeat. Take a personal trainer who thought they were signing up for a laid-back, part-time gig, only to find out they were expected to hang around the gym floor like an unpaid kettlebell. Lots of unpaid pain with no real gain.

Workplace exploitation often feels like being stuck on a treadmill set to max incline, no matter how hard you push, you're still going nowhere. Managers have a habit of treating labor like a high-intensity interval training session, constantly upping the pace while offering no time to rest or regroup. These tough-guy trainers of the corporate who are stacking tasks you never agreed to and throwing them into your routine, like surprise lunges that leave you with nothing but soreness and regret.

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  • Unpaid labor, long hours, and passive-aggressive attitudes? That’s not professional growth; that’s a relentless circuit with no water breaks.  

    For this trainer, the final straw was being expected to show up to the gym floor unpaid, just to loiter as an informal floor decoration. After being pushed too far, they realized the only exercise worth doing is the one where you flex your boundaries and strength-train your self-respect. Sometimes, the best workout is walking away.

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    via Stel Antic

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

  • I work part-time as a personal trainer at a country club gym. I also run my own online coaching business, and I picked up this job to help save up for opening my own gym someday.
    via Bikinisandbrushes
  • When I got hired, I was told I wouldn't have to work the floor and that my director would help with marketing and finding leads. The setup was supposed to be laid-back and flexible, which was
    via Bikinisandbrushes
  • ideal for me. I'm paid per session, not hourly, and I only keep 80% of the $50 they charge. (if you're not familiar with personal training rates, that's extremely low to start with).
    via Bikinisandbrushes
  • Cheezburger Image 10490661632
    via Tima Miroshnichenko

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

  • The gym doesn't have front desk coverage between 12 and 4 PM. It became pretty obvious they expected me to fill that time with training sessions, basically so they didn't have to hire a desk person.
    via Bikinisandbrushes
  • I tried to book clients during that window, but most people want to work out in the morning or evening. I'm a trainer, not a front desk employee.
    via Bikinisandbrushes
  • Cheezburger Image 10490662144
    via corelens

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

  • I started taking clients around 9 AM but was still expected to stay until 4. My director told me I could clock in during downtime, and I even confirmed that with her boss.
    via Bikinisandbrushes
  • A couple weeks ago, all my clients canceled on a Wednesday. Since I had no appointments, I stayed home to work on my coaching business. I've been doing them a favor of booking around that
    via Bikinisandbrushes
  • time, but at the end of the day I have no set hours and it's not my problem they are being too cheap to hire someone during that time period. My director saw
    via Bikinisandbrushes
  • my schedule was empty and texted asking if I was coming in. I should've told her earlier that I wasn't, but she was passive- aggressive for days afterward.
    via Bikinisandbrushes
  • Eventually, she confronted me about it—at the front desk, in front of another employee. She implied I should be coming in
    via Bikinisandbrushes
  • even without clients and staying until 4, just to "be present" on the floor. Which, again, was never part of the deal.
    via Bikinisandbrushes
  • So this week, I did exactly what she wanted. I came in every day, stayed until 4, and clocked in. Today she calls me and asks why I've been clocking in. She says I'm
    via Bikinisandbrushes
  • only allowed to clock in if I have a complimentary client. So now I'm supposed to come in, stay until 4, and not get paid at all?
    via Bikinisandbrushes
  • This job was supposed to be part- time and flexible. Now I'm expected to show up for 4-7 hours a day even if I have no
    via Bikinisandbrushes
  • clients, just to hang around and work for free. The pay is already low and now they're asking me to literally give them unpaid labor.
    via Bikinisandbrushes
  • Would love your thoughts. How would you handle this?
    via Bikinisandbrushes
  • TL;DR: Hired as a part-time trainer, told I'd never have to work the floor. Now my boss expects me to show up with no clients, stay until 4 PM, work the floor and not clock in―aka work for free.
    via Bikinisandbrushes
  • zomgitsduke "I'm only working with clients moving forward. If none are assigned to me, I will be working another job for hourly pay. You could pay me to be here, but I won't sit around for free all day"
    via zomgitsduke
  • Bikinisandbrushes OP Thank you for this script. I've been struggling in knowing what to say so that I'm direct and not over explaining myself. So I think this the perfect response!
    via Bikinisandbrushes
  • star-67 Tell her straight out you are not working the front desk for free. The agreement was you come in part time when there's clients. Stand your ground and don't let her gaslight you
    via star-67
  • scb225 Just say if you aren't getting paid to be there, then you won't be there. It is a job, the only reason to come in is to be paid.
    via scb225

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management boss workplace-stories hr toxic-workplace manager bosses work PTO managers supervisor workplace Horrible Bosses work-life balance
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