I am writing this on a Saturday. I did two hours of work today and two hours last night. I have already worked many hours over my allotted workdays this week. It is unlikely I will get paid for this extra time.
Why do I and so many other people do this? Are we out of our minds?
To answer the second question; the answer is simple, I don’t think I am out of my mind, but I am doing something most people would view as crazy. The first question is a little more complicated to answer.
Who would willingly work for free … I do and I have for as long as I can remember. It was drilled into my psyche that successful people are always early. As a career advisor, I suggest 10-15 minutes early, but in actual practice, I often am at work an hour or two before I am scheduled; some people I know start even sooner than that.
Why would anyone willingly work for free … the reasons vary, some are simple and others very complex. I began because I believe in providing value, doing the best work I possibly can, gaining valuable experience, and standing out, to demonstrate I am motivated, reliable, and dependable. Now I work longer because if I do not do this work, nobody else will and I feel responsible to those people I try to help. During Covid when I was out of work, I offered to work for free because nobody was hiring and I needed an opportunity.
My reasons are similar to other people who work for free. Please note I am not referring to volunteering; for the purposes of this blog we are discussing people who are doing work they would normally be paid for, but they are using their own time to do more of that work for no reward, usually no recognition and actually sometimes can suffer censure from their supervisors.
I believe what I do is important, in my situation, overtime is not allowed, and there is simply no way to provide the expected services within the time allocated … so instead of reducing services or the number of people I help … I began providing my time outside of what I get paid for. For people who work in the non-profit sector or for charities, this is quite common. In the business world, 50/60/70-hour weeks for salaried staff is far from unusual. My personal record for one week was 77 hours.
Some people do it to demonstrate their value and dedication hoping it will lead to promotion and other rewards. In my experience, few people notice, some supervisors will punish you for your initiative, but mostly nobody even notices.
When would you work for free?
For me, it began slowly. Sometimes someone was sick and a shift needed to be covered so I worked. In the private sector and as well in the non-profit world, for as long as I can remember there have been financial and budgetary pressures to “do more with less,” despite the fact there was the same or more work that was expected. Other times, due to pressing commitments, you begin taking shorter lunches, skipping breaks, and often working later to finish an assignment that just needs to be done.
Many people like me, constantly look for efficiencies and better ways to accomplish their tasks; however, despite those efforts there always seems to be more to be done. As a responsible and highly motivated leader and worker, I took my responsibilities seriously and did not want to let anyone down.
What would motivate you to work for free?
Expectations. Senior leaders and other managers wanted the work done, pressure was applied, and I wanted to show I was the right person for my job. As above, one doesn’t go from working a normal number of hours, it happens slowly; maybe initially over-time is approved but then you are told there is a “hard cap” on your hours and you decide I can do a few hours just to stay caught up and soon your organization will notice and give you more resources. That doesn’t usually happen, they expect more; soon, those few hours become more significant and you become trapped or worse you become acclimatized to doing it and it becomes a habit because you need and like your job.
What is the cost of working for free?
This varies depending on how much you are working for free and how deep into this mindset you have become. For me, it very nearly cost me my marriage, it affected my children because I wasn’t there for them. I grew distant from my family, at one point missing 26 of 27 family Christmas get-togethers because I always worked during the holidays.
Family time, time for yourself, additional stress and anxiety, and peer pressure; are all costs that will eventually impact you and those people who care about you.
Will you get into trouble?
By trouble, I mean trouble from your organization and the answer is surprisingly “yes” with a caveat. In theory and publicly, most organizations will say that they expect their people to get their jobs done in the time allowed, in practice many organizations still expect tasks to be completed and many will turn a “blind eye” to however you accomplish those tasks. It creates a bind for the people involved because if they don’t get their work finished, they will get in trouble, and if they work extra they will get in trouble; really good organizations will not set their people up for this conundrum.
Is it worth it?
As a person who has worked for free for years, if not decades, I can categorically say that it is not worth it, at the time now and in the past when I have engaged in this behavior, whether it is worth it or not, it is quite often the only way to survive in the short-term.
The right organizational answer is for supervisors and leaders to realize they have created an impossible situation and there are not simply enough resources to do the work necessary. I hesitate to draw too much attention to the problem because I know the organization has no additional resources, if I sacrifice the standards I provide to my clients then they suffer and ultimately the organization does not achieve its goals, and everyone loses.
If I work extra, even for free, our clients, our organization, and our funders achieve their goals, and without being a martyr the only person who loses is me; however, that is not true entirely, because my family, friends, and life loses because I am absent, missing from responsibilities at home, and am tired and/or frustrated.
So what do you do and how do you escape from this trap?
If your organization is unaware of what you are doing, tell them, even if they react poorly to your solution to the problem. One of my greatest weaknesses is that I try to fix everything, often without realizing the consequences to me and my family for my actions directly or indirectly.
Context and perspective are important, if you are logging occasional extra hours that are not expected or often, that is likely acceptable; consistently working the equivalent of extra whole days each pay period is going to have negative consequences for everyone.
If after collaboratively discussing your situation with your organization they refuse to provide sufficient resources and you are unwilling to sacrifice standards, then you are going to have to seek employment elsewhere, to continue on your current path is untenantable.
So why do I continue to work for free?
I care, like most people in these situations, I care deeply about the work I do, the people I work with and for, and the clients we help.
I am highly motivated, extremely reliable, and super dependable. I am my own worst enemy and I need to realize I am past the point where I can win.
Am I out of mind? The simple answer is “yes.”
Working excess hours for free is not worth the personal costs in the long run. As a leader of people, I did not expect my people to work for free and I set a poor example personally because of this double standard.
If I cannot change my situation now, I need to find another way or another job. This will be difficult but necessary. My advice to you is to recognize the signs early, step back and create a plan to extricate yourself before you get as deep as me.
Good luck,
Paul.