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Imagine being told you’re not allowed to work overtime. What would you do if your job was event sales, and someone stopped by to tour the event location just minutes before your shift was over? Would you stay late to help them out or tell them they’ll have to come back another day?

In this story, one employee is in this situation, and she thinks it’s reasonable to go home when her shift is over; however, her boss is pretty upset that she’s not willing to stay late to help out.

Who is really being unreasonable? Let’s read the whole story to decide.

AITA For not staying late at work when my boss said no overtime?

I work as an event coordinator at an establishment I’d rather not name. My job is to sell/ create events for kids birthday parties, adult events, etc.

Our boss used to allow all the overtime we wanted.

But a few weeks ago, she sent us a text saying, “Moving forward. No one is permitted to work outside of their scheduled times. We are no longer able to have over time.”

Here’s some more context about how her job works.

Most of our sells are done over the phone, but sometimes people will come in-person to tour the facility and to discuss the event they want to have.

These conversations can take anywhere between 30 minutes all the way up to an hour sometimes.

Sometimes, a customer will come in to book an event when I’m clocking out. But even if we were allowed over time, I have a life outside of work. I cannot stay 30 minutes late at a moment’s notice.

Her boss seems to expect her to work overtime even though she’s not getting paid for it.

Tonight, it was just my boss and I in the office and it was 6:59pm (I get off at 7pm) when a family walks in to book a birthday party. So I politely asked the family to take a seat and to wait one moment.

Then I went into my boss’s office to ask her if she would like to see the family or if she would rather I take their info and call them tomorrow morning.

She got mad and said she couldn’t believe I’ve been, “turning people away” instead of staying late to help them.

I apologized and told her I know we aren’t allowed to work overtime any longer and I told her that I couldn’t stay late tonight because I had plans (that was a lie).

Her boss was pretty upset.

So she started helping them (I heard her tell them the office was closed though) and I clocked out and got in my car.

Soon after I left, she calls me to complain about what I did.

I politely explain to her that I schedule my personal life around the schedule she gives us and I cannot stay late at a moment’s notice because I have things going on outside of work. I also referenced the fact that she told us we are no longer allowed to go over 40 hours.

She said we’ll have to change my schedule around so that I can stay late when I need to.

She tried to get some clarification.

I asked her if she was going to cut my hours (something she just did to my co-worker because she was mad at him)

But she said she’ll have to make my shifts different times.

I told her that even if I get off at 5pm, if I have to be somewhere after work, I wont be able to stay late.

She said she has to do what’s best for the company and that we’ll have to have a conversation tomorrow.

She sounds like a good employee.

So I took a screenshot of the text she sent us telling us that overtime is no longer allowed.

I have never been late for work and I never leave early.

During our last 2 meetings she told me that I’ve been doing a great job.

So I think it’s more than reasonable that I leave when my shift is over. Those are the hours we agreed to, so those are the hours I’m prepared for.

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I assume her boss is probably going to adjust her hours so that she starts work later and stays later.

Let’s see how Reddit responded.

This person thinks she should find another job.

Here’s another suggestion to look for a different job.

This person points out that what the boss is asking her to do is illegal.

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.

This is good advice.

She really shouldn’t have even looked at the text from her boss until she was at work the next day. She shouldn’t be thinking about work when she’s at home. She’s not getting paid to work overtime, and texting her boss about work is working.

Her boss is being unreasonable, but maybe she’ll modify her hours in a way that will be better for business and won’t require OP to work overtime.

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Author

Jayne Elliott

Jayne Elliott | Contributing Writer, Life & Drama

Jayne Elliott is a contributing writer and editor for TwistedSifter specializing in human interest stories, internet culture, and family dynamics. With over 12 years of editorial experience in digital publishing, Jayne excels at analyzing complex online communities and transforming viral social debates into thoughtful, highly engaging narratives.

Rather than simply aggregating internet drama, Jayne brings a sharp, empathetic editorial eye to everyday dilemmas. She has a unique talent for unpacking the nuances of pop culture and online conflicts, providing readers with relatable, well-researched commentary.

Based in California, Jayne spends her free time outside the newsroom exploring theme parks with her family or beach-combing along the coast.

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