Fresher faces pressure to work overtime, refuses after-hours work; Redditors say, ‘Proud of GenZ'

A fresher documented his interaction his senior teammate who asked him to work after work hours. Seeking advice from the online community about how to deal with the situation, he posted a screenshot of the interaction. At a time when work-life balance ideology is gaining ground, this post gained significant traction online.

The caption to the Reddit post states, “Senior asked me to work after hours. What do I do now?”

Describing the toxic work culture at the company where he is employed, he stated, “Okay, so a senior of me in my team asked me to work after shift hours on something. Honestly, My shift timings are from 12PM - 9PM IST and i can personally work for some days when there's a requirement." Suggesting that he is ready to spend extra hours on work in case of emergency, he said, "But I don't want to make it a habit or routine & give the idea that they can take advantage of my after hours time.”

When the team member demanded extra time on work he had replied with a message stating that he needs to prioritise personal commitments after work hours. Refusing to work extra time, he said, “I'll need to prioritize those once my shift ends. I can be available if there's an emergency, but I won't be able to commit to working beyond my shift hours.”

After this interaction, the teammate asked the Redditor to send the same in mail.

Social media reaction

Social media users strongly reacted to conversation with witty responses. A user said, "Tell him to drop a mail asking for over time work."

Another user wrote, "Tell your senior. "Sure I'll share it in email with you, can you email me requesting to work beyond my shift timings and I can communicate the same in the email chain.""

A third comment read, “Stop normalising overtime. Boundaries need to be maintained. I am proud of the current GenZ population.”

A fourth user remarked, “Same happened with me. My manager asked me to put it in an email. I said okay, I will. He immediately back tracked. Said I don't need to email or anything. You need to stand up to these bullies.”
A fifth user stated, “Stop responding to messages once your shift ends, then you won't be accountable for a reply. Come back the next day and just say you were occupied with personal work, hence couldn't check the message. Do it twice and people will understand what you are doing.”

A sixth user said, "If you're sending this in email, do include a screenshot of the WhatsApp text as well. Your senior's texts should be visible where he's asking you to work after your shift hours. And write something like “As requested by you, here is my reply to your repeated instructions to work overtime.” He wants to do exactly what you're thinking - present it to the HR as 'xyz (your name) is too rigid'."