Imagine working for a boss who recommends that you do some work-related reading over the weekend. Would you comply, or would you refuse?

In this story, one employee is in this situation and decides to comply. The boss seemed to think the employee was doing this reading for free, but he was wrong.

Keep reading to see his reaction when the employee submits overtime.

A little light reading

About 10 or so years ago I started in a new job that is quite technical, with lots of technical reference documents that are updated regularly.

My manager was the type of guy who would expect his staff to work that little bit extra each day and would make snide comments about you if you had the audacity to leave work on time.

Company policy states that if we did work overtime it had to be submitted within 30 days or it would be denied. He loved being the bearer of bad news if someone missed that deadline.

And all overtime had to be approved prior by management.

OP took the boss’s advice.

Anyway, at my yearly review he mentioned it wouldn’t hurt if I took home a document or two to read over weekends. Confirming just “an hour a night of light reading” would be quite beneficial. He even noted this as a “development opportunity” in my review.

So I followed his recommendation and would read for an hour each night before bed.

He took pleasure in reminding me about it in front of co-workers and smugly praising me for “finally listening to him”.

OP timed it perfectly.

Then just before the 30 day deadline I submitted my overtime of 1 hour each night (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) for the last 4 weeks.

He was furious but knew there was nothing he could do as it was documented in my review.

I was directed to do my reading during business hours. after that.

It gets even better!

The kicker?

Company policy also states overtime not merged with my normal work hours is paid at a minimum of 4 hours pay at overtime rates. Meaning I got 7 hours pay for every hour I read each night.

Quite lucrative in the end.

Wow! That was very well played! The boss certainly realized his mistake. He thought the employee was doing that extra work for free.

Let’s see how Reddit responded to this story.

Here’s something worth noting.

This person loved how the story played out.

Another person was expecting something quite different to happen.

Seriously, just not in the way he expected!

Bosses should never assume their employees will work for free.

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.