If there’s more work to do than a regular work day allows, there are only so many options.

One option is to work overtime.

Another option is leave even though the work isn’t done.

Yet another option would be to hire another employee since there’s clearly too much work to go around.

In today’s story, one overworked employee is told to work overtime, then not to work overtime, and then to work overtime.

This boss changes his mind so much it’s insane!

Let’s see what’s going on.

Boss tells me not to work overtime anymore… until the work stops getting done

Another short but sweet, classic time sheet story.

I’m an analyst in a very specific field, working off “submissions” from various clients — meaning, my workload can fluctuate between a few weeks of minimal work, and a few months of having three times the workload one person can reasonably accomplish in a day.

We work relatively independently, with our boss assigning us various clients, and occasionally pulling us off our desks to work on his projects.

The boss can be unreasonable.

My boss also has selective workload blindness, wherein he mysteriously forgets about all your existing clients as soon as he needs you to do his project work, which contributes to the bad work weeks being very bad.

Consequentially, sometimes I work 40 hours a week, sometimes I work 50+.

Our boss’ answer to our insane workload is to suggest we “sometimes come in an hour early” or “maybe stay an hour extra”, or “work through lunch”.

So, for a few weeks I did.

Her boss cracked down on overtime.

After a week or two of submitting my accurate time sheets where I came in early, took no lunch, and stayed as long as I could after normal working hours, he came into my office and angrily told me that I needed to keep it under 43 hours a week.

Anything over that requires special approval from HIS boss, and he didn’t think my “current workload justified those hours”.

In other words, he had to explain to his boss why our department is working 50 hour work weeks just to stay on top of everything.

So, I started coming into work exactly on time, taking my time through a luxurious hour lunch break, and leaving promptly at 6 PM.

The boss changed his mind about overtime yet again.

During that time he also pulled me into several projects of his, on top of my other clients.

Every night when I let him know I was leaving, he would look at me with disbelief and remind me of all the outstanding work left on his projects.

I cheerfully told him I was approaching my overtime limit, and would be happy to continue working on it the next day.

After a few weeks of angry client emails, he quietly told me not to worry about my overtime approvals, and to just get the work done.

I can’t wait to quit this hellscape of a job.

Which is it, boss? Overtime or no overtime?

He really needs to make up his mind.

Let’s see how Reddit reacted to this story.

This person no longer works overtime.

Yes, a bad boss is the worst.

This is a very good point.

Exactly, but not going to happen!

Get it in writing.

This boss can’t make up his mind!

She had better document this whole conversation, though.

Thought that was satisfying? Check out what this employee did when their manager refused to pay for their time while they were traveling for business.