Never Work Overtime

I know what you're thinking. "Overtime is more money." No, never work overtime. "But I don't have kids. It's not really that big of a deal for me." No, never work overtime. "But it's a good way to show my boss that i'm committed to the company." Your boss doesn't care. Never work overtime. EVER. Here's why...

1. You literally don't have time for it.

There are 24 hours in a day. A minimum of eight of them are for sleeping. Even if you abuse your brain and body by only allowing 4-6 hours of sleep, you should still be getting eight. You need about an hour to get ready in the morning and an average of 30 mins to commute to work. You work an eight hour day with an hour lunch for a total of 9 hours and another 30 minutes or so to get back home. At this point, you've utilized 19 of your 24 hours, assuming you haven't compromised sleep and that you don't live far from work. You have six hours left to feed your children, bathe them, spend time with them and put them to bed. This does not include the extra time needed to pick them up from day care, take a shower yourself, run any errands or socialize with other adults outside of work. If you're lucky, you have a partner to lighten the load but, guess what, your partner wants some attention too. The only way to fit overtime into a schedule like this is to reduce sleep or put things off until the weekend. But once the weekend comes, you're so sleep deprived, you won't tend to the unresolved matters then either. Come Monday morning, your weekend wasn't a weekend, and you hate Mondays.

2. Its not worth your time.

For simplicity's sake, let's say your hourly pay is $10 and hour. Overtime is $15 an hour. Your boss comes to you at the end of the day to ask you to work a couple more hours because someone else failed to do their job in the eight hours allotted. The average employee is underpaid, so the lure of increased income is very attractive. But in reality, the $15 an hour you're receiving for about two extra hours is what you should be making in the first place. So its  not really extra pay. Take a moment to accurately account for the amount of income you're really being offered. Your base pay is $10 an hour. You're working overtime for two hours which means you're receiving an extra $10. That's $10 before taxes for two more hours away from your children, your partner, the priorities that have looming deadlines, your hobbies, your peace and serenity. Is it worth it?

3. Your relationships will suffer.

The average person has replaced real world socialization for social media. Partly because it is addicting, and partly because it takes up less time.  With barely enough time in a normal work day to spend with family, spending time with your friends and associates is nearly impossible unless you're texting or reading status updates. If you add overtime to that schedule, your family will begin to suffer. Instead of precious time with your children or your partner, you're at work with people you don't necessarily like for just enough money to buy an extra value meal. Meanwhile the people who love you are seriously beginning to miss you. By the time you get home, you're so tired you are really a pleasure to be around. This is also when you begin to hate your job.

4. Your boss isn't going to appreciate you more.

The fact that you're being asked to work overtime exposes poor management in the first place. It is your supervisor's responsibility to ensure that everyone is working productively within the universally allotted eight hour work day. If there is overtime, someone didn't do their job, or someone overstated the company's or agency's ability to meet a deadline. Either way, it amounts to poor management. Now the supervisor wants you to make up for their mismanagement by working overtime. Meanwhile, they leave on time to go spend time with their family and friends. As far as your boss is concerned, you are being adequately compensated for making up their shortcomings. Expecting to receive anything more than a "thank you" from your boss is unrealistic. You will end up angry and bitter in the end.

Overtime, is rarely ever worth the pay and never worth what you lose in life. Always remember you work to live, not live to work. You need your paycheck for food and housing. If your base pay accomplishes this goal, then overtime should be declined. If you have to work overtime to make ends meet, you need to ask for a raise or seek a higher paying job. The higher the level employment you secure, the fewer hours you are expected to work. Just ask your supervisor.