UPDATE: 'He didn't take it well': New boss demands employee stay to work unscheduled overtime, employee hits him with a "no," gets fired

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Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Jul 14, 2025 6:00 PM EDT

You'll find yourself in one of these situations, wondering to yourself whether or not it's worth speaking up. Even if you're on the right side of things, morally, ethically, and according to company policy, doing so could land you in hot water and on the wrong side of a wrongful termination because someone above you in the chain let their ego get in the way.

At that point, wrongful or not… you're still fired. 

Many of us simply cannot afford to up and quit a job in dramatic fashion or take a theatrical last stand at work in order to put our toxic, egotistical boss in their place. Doing so would place us in a compromised position where we're out of a job and scrambling to find another to simply make ends meet. If you have rapport or positioning in the company where you think doing otherwise is possible and even appreciated, then you can do so. But making an effort to stand out in anything but a positive light might see you up on the chopping block. 

While there is no consensus on the widely reported claim that most Americans live paycheck to paycheck, many households report that they do, with nearly half of Americans reporting that they "somewhat agree" with the statement "I am living paycheck to paycheck." Surely, most people at least feel the strain and necessity of not being able to effortlessly handle a period without any income.

Because of this, the reality is that the best way to handle any conflict or expectation at work is to do whatever is expected, insulate yourself from and mitigate the effects of that expectation on your personal life, and quietly determine whether or not you want to continue to work there. If you are in a situation where a change is not next to impossible, then it's time to start looking for other employers.

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  • Still, it's always entertaining to see accounts online from those who have decided to throw caution to the wind in favor of standing firm on their rights or values, as the worker in this post did. The worker found themself in hot water and was soon fired from a position that they had held for a mere 4 months. The fact that their previous manager had also been fired for standing up for their team was probably a good indicator of what was to come for anyone who dared speak their mind.

    See below the original post, followed by the update that they shared.

  • 01

    Original Post

    My new boss, I'll call him Paul, asked me last week why I was leaving early on Friday. I told him I didn't want to hit overtime. (This is a whole other story.) He reminded me that overtime is time and a half, and he'll totally authorize me to work a few extra hours. I said no. Just no. That's it. One word. His face did something scary and he walked away, but then he came back and told me he really appreciated knowing where we stood and thanked me for my honesty. It felt... wrong. Mandatory overt
    via luckyladylucy
  • 02
    Cheezburger Image 10529945856
    via No Revisions

    The image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 03

    Update:

    UPDATE We all knew I was going to be fired. It's not a surprise. But the good news is, | took a few very vital functions with me. No one else knows how to do them, and there's no documentation. My old teammates are telling me they haven't seen old "Paul" around in a while, meaning he's over in the head honcho building getting drilled.
    via luckyladylucy
  • 04
    EDIT to answer some questions: When I was hired, a whopping four months ago, there was never any expectation or discussion of overtime. It was to be avoided, unless absolutely necessary. They fired that manager (for standing up for us) who ensured work was divided fairly and we didn't need to work overtime.
    via luckyladylucy
  • 05
    I don't claim to be absolutely necessary. I just know how to do the uploads for paying two of our biggest vendors. They're definitely screwed over, but not "oh god we're going to lose the business". They're just going to pay a buttload in late fees. I'd say a medium amount of screwed.
    via luckyladylucy
  • 06
    Cheezburger Image 10529945600
    via Yunus Tuğ

    The image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 07
    Cereal_poster It really is a playbook power trip paired with utter stupidity of your (now recent) boss. Imagine: Starting in a new company, not knowing yet what your people really do and how vital they are in their functions and work scopes. And then firing persons because of your hurt little ego without realizing how this will hurt the company. I assume there is going to be a new management position available at this company soon.
    via luckyladylucy
  • 08
    HarithBK such an odd power play. if you are about to hit OT and you don't want to take OT nor is your work urgent enough to need OT why push an employee to take OT? that is just wasteful spending.
    via luckyladylucy
  • 09
    valleyislevideo I did that once or twice at an old job. "no thanks. I make enough" and went home. Didn't get fired though.
    via luckyladylucy
  • 10
    Whisperingstones I wonder how soon ole "Paul" will be calling you back with a 30% payraise?
    via luckyladylucy
  • 11
    ThatOneNerd7 dude played the game and lost. Glad you walked with your head up and left them scrambling.
    via luckyladylucy
  • 12
    Geminii27 Send a written physical letter to Paul's bosses, offering to provide those functions, fully customized for the employer and instantly implementable in their current environment, at what works out to an 'industry standard' specialist- consultant 10x hourly rate (paid in 40-hour blocks in advance, of course), seeing as how Paul not only fired all the employees who knew how to implement them, but forgot to check if there was any documentation first.
    via luckyladylucy
  • 13
    Jeveran As a contracted consultant, you should get at least 200% of your former full-time rate. Also, any time they need something from you, it's a mandatory 4-hour charge, regardless if it takes less time to solve. As a consultant, you should be available during core business hours, but no late nights, absurdly early mornings, weekends, or recognized holidays.
    via luckyladylucy
  • 14
    eyeballburger How DARE you express autonomy in the face of the grand Paul!
    via luckyladylucy
  • 15
    Diorj it is a sign of how little companies are actually paying the employee. Overtime was designed to hurt companies bottom line, but now since they are paying so little to begin with, it is just another tool for them..
    via luckyladylucy
  • 16
    r_slash_jarmedia mandatory overtime just sounds oxymoronic to me lol
    via luckyladylucy
  • 17
    Restart_from_Zero Two ways to be a manager of a new team: 1. See everything's working smoothly, take your time to get to know the team and their work and, after that period, make adjustments respecting your team and their work. 2. Wave your around. Make changes, any changes - doesn't matter what. Gotta let the little people know who's boss.
    via luckyladylucy
  • 18
    nighthawkndemontron Now your former boss is in the FO part of FAFO. If this is how they process and respond to the word "No" you're better off not being there.
    via luckyladylucy
  • 19
    Thisismyswamparg Your boss sounds like he was pretty uninformed about your duties. Also, why work overtime if you completed your work? I had a job once where I was told I wouldn't be working more than 40 hours a week, that was a huge lie. Two weeks in a row I stayed an extra hour or two every single day and finally on a Wednesday I decided to leave on time. The
    via luckyladylucy
  • 20
    very next day my boss comes to me and asks why I left early. We got into a huge argument because I had a kid and I had to tell her that I do not live at the office. Funniest part was they did not allow any work from home Even though it would've been easily manageable. But either way honestly, I shouldn't have been expected to work those hours for my pay - I was actually being underpaid compared to everybody else in that office.
    via luckyladylucy
  • 21
    bbusiello I can't wait for the next update when those vital functions are needed and they're banging at your door!
    via luckyladylucy

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