They Were Told Staying Late Mattered More Than Their Regular Performance, But Their Response Was To Make Overtime Requests Impossible For Management To Ignore
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Finishing work on time should not be treated like proof that someone is lazy.
This analyst received excellent reviews but was denied a raise because she did not stay late.
Instead of arguing, she started documenting every offer to help and every empty office after closing time.
Keep reading to see what finally proved her real value.
Raise denied for not working overtime.
“A couple years ago, I was working for a corporation as an analyst.
Company culture was that working insane overtime was bragged about and praised – when in reality, these people are working overtime because they do so much meaningless work that could be automated in a dozen different ways.
I’ve always been very flexible with my time, because my management has been flexible with me – if I needed to take a long lunch, leave early for an appointment, etc. And I’ve always been very forthcoming about this.
They’re clear about this…
However, if I don’t have to work late, I’m not… I finish all of my responsibilities during normal work hours and wrap things up neatly at the end of the day to have a smooth start the next day.
I had been in this position for a little over a year and went into it knowing I was being severely underpaid, and I’m very confident in the output of my work – always got great marks on performance reviews and constant praise for what I was doing.
So I felt deserving of a raise, and I requested it. (20% which is large, I understand, and I debated that for awhile because I knew I wouldn’t get the full amount. But this is how severely I was underpaid, and I knew 20% was the cap by our company’s policies.)
Nope!
I was immediately rejected any raise because I come into the office at 8 and leave right at 5 while everyone else works late and I never offer to help others out when they are overloaded (meaning they work late and I leave on time).
The first part of this “feedback” actually came from someone else who worked on our floor, never worked with this guy in my life.
My manager was all about perception > reality. Which I understand is general corporate culture, but that doesn’t mean it’s not bull ****.
Ok. I can change that. Around 4:30 everyday, I would ping my manager asking if there was anything she needed help with to finish out the day. I documented all of this in a word doc.
This was working out well for them…
Day in and day out, there wasn’t a single thing she ever asked me to do in addition to the work I was already doing. I would test things out and stay until 5:15/5:30 some days to see who all is working late. Very seldomly was anyone ever in the office past 5:05.
Eventually, my manager said I don’t need to be checking in with her at the end of everyday. I said ok, no problem, but I just want you to know that you can always reach out if you need help with something, because I can’t be expected to know your workload if you don’t communicate.
Our relationship stayed very strained after that. I was desperate to leave the company, especially once the raise was fully rejected after receiving above average performance review for being in the job for only a year.
Finally got another offer about 5 months later that was a 60% raise.
My prior company offered me the same 60% raise and a promotion. Took the new company’s offer and have never been happier in a job.”
Reddit users shared their thoughts.
This person spoke up.
Another reader weighed in.
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This individual offered some advice.
Another person shared their thoughts.
If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a grocery cashier who gets into a standoff with a customer who hasn’t paid for everything in their basket.
And this reader shared a story.
This analyst repeatedly offered extra help, but her manager never had additional work and eventually asked her to stop checking.
Five months later, she received an outside offer with 60% more pay and rejected her employer’s matching counteroffer.
Funny how her value increased the moment she walked away.
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