‘Too Young To Have A Life’: Man Claims Boss Pushes Him For ‘Unpaid Overtime’ & HR ‘Agrees’ But Can’t Help

An employee’s story about an interfering and controlling manager, who is pressuring them to not have any interests outside work, has grabbed attention on Reddit. Shared on the subreddit r/Indian workplace,

the post said that the manager expects the employee to put in overtime without any pay. While there have been no formal warnings or other notices issued by the boss, the employee has been stressed over their manager’s insistence on working extra.

“My manager has been pressuring me to work beyond my regular 8-hour shift without pay. He is convinced my performance is slipping because I do not put in unpaid extra hours. There has been no formal performance warning, no missed deadlines, and no refusal of work. I complete everything assigned to me within office hours,” the post, which was shared two days ago, read.

Manager Asks Employee To Give Up Interests Outside Work

According to the post, the situation became worse when the manager found out about the employee’s interests outside work. He then asked the worker to focus only on their work and not communicate with people in the office who share their interests. The reason given by the boss was that the employee was young and “should focus only on work and not have a life.”

My manager expects unpaid overtime, controls my personal life, and told me I’m “too young to have a life” while HR says he’s wrong but cannot move me yet
byu/Efficient_Pen3804 inIndianWorkplace

What HR Said About The Situation

When the worker approached the HR, the department agreed that the manager was at fault but said they could not help the employee shift to another team as there were no open positions. The worker is now stuck doing their job under the same manager.

“At this point, he is trying to control what I do outside office hours, what I am interested in as a person, who I talk to at work, where I sit at work, and even whether I am allowed to have a life at all, all while still pushing for unpaid overtime,” the Redditor said. They asked for advice to tackle the situation.

Social Media Responds To Plea

Many users supported the employee and asked them to be prepared to change jobs. “Do your job, ignore the extra, avoid talking to the manager, and prepare to switch if you don’t get to move internally. Have some boundaries,” one comment read.

Another account wrote, “Manager tried. I quit. The manager got pissed. I didn’t care. Found a new job. Paid better. Have been following the same policy since. Let me work, and I will do wonders for you; try to control me, and my resignation is always in my drafts. Brash? Yes. Radical? Totally. Am I prioritising the right aspects of my life? 100%.”

One individual advised the worker to be ready with proof and ignore everything else. “Listen everything, document everything and ignore everything. When the time comes, be ready with proof. Live your life the way you want, the more you climb the corporate ladder, you’ll come across such people who are miserable and feel validated by making others more miserable. Learn to ignore them and always do what you feel is right.”

The post highlights how toxic work is prevalent in offices across the country and leaves young employees feeling stressed and helpless.