Update: New employee refuses to work overtime, boss fires him to make an example, entire team suffers without employee's efforts: 'We didn’t need to work overtime!'

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Jul 18, 2025 4:00 PM EDT

Most people who are told they won't be working overtime at their new job are inclined to believe their bosses. That's why this employee was taken aback when, just a few months into their new role, they were pressured to stay after hours despite the fact that this was not an "all hands on deck" situation.

Thankfully, the employee decided that they weren't going to back down, especially since this overtime request was a last-minute one and the author likely already made plans. Besides, they had the self-confidence to know that they were the only person on their team who knew how to perform certain functions. As such, if their boss didn't exactly like the fact that their new hire wasn't going to work overtime for him, surely he still couldn't fire them, given how indispensable they were to the whole team, right? Oh, how wrong this employee was! It turns out that one should never underestimate the power of a boss's fragile ego…

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  • Apparently, nothing can get under this boss's skin more than what he perceived to be "insubordination" (even though it very much wasn't). It didn't matter to the boss that the employee was so necessary to the functionality and productivity of the company. His wounded ego seemed to take precedence over everything that actually mattered. Keep scrolling below for the original story along with the author's subsequent update when they learned that they were going to be let go.

  • 02
    FIRST 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
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    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
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    back and told me he really appreciated knowing where we stood and thanked me for my honesty. It felt... wrong.
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    Mandatory overtime is legal where I'm at, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.
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    UPDATE We all knew I was going to be fired. It's not a surprise. But the good news is, I took a few very vital functions with me. No one else knows how to do them, and
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    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.
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    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.
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  • 09
    They fired that manager (for standing up for us) who ensured work was divided fairly and we didn't need to work overtime.
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    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 scr d over, but not
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    "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 scr d.
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    Cereal_poster It really is a playbook power trip paired with utter stupidity of your (now recent) boss.
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    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.
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    I assume there is going to be a new management position available at this company soon.
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    Whisperingstones ⚫ I wonder how soon ole "Paul" will be calling you back with a 30% payraise?
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    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.
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    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
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    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.
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    valleyislevideo ⚫ I did that once or twice at an old job. "no thanks. I make enough" and went home. Didn't get fired though.
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    ThatOneNerd7. dude played the game and lost. Glad you walked with your head up and left them scrambling.
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    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..
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