Why It's A Big Mistake To Do Free (Unpaid) Overtime

A Purely Financial mistake because: The way the economies of this earth work,  it makes perfect holistic sense (from one angle) that companies make workers work extra hard (and by that I mean over 40 hours a week) during economic highs. The trade-off is that it lays off workers during economic lows. The extra time the workers worked, helps accumulate the personal fat that is (expected) to be used during lean times. So if your company - or profession - wants you to work for free after you've completed your 40 hours a week, then they are setting you up for your personal financial ruin. To me there could be nothing more malicious than this. There is a very high chance - nearing the inevitable - that you will be laid off during lean times. By not paying you for your extra efforts fairly, the company is actually conspiring to put you and your family out on the street.

It is a Moral mistake, because you don't take anything for free from your company, yet your company expects to take your irreversible time and precious effort for zero compensation. Some of you are thinking, "It's the price I'm willing to pay to stay employed." Ok, no argument there. Just be aware of the trade-off you are engaging in. It is worthwhile to explore professions or jobs where you are  compensated for your time with payment or time-off. I wasn't. I was being swindled by a mega-corporation. And I agreed to it by signing my name on that contract of servitude. Thank the stars it wasn't the equivalent of indentured servitude - which many unfortunate souls are subjected to when they sell their company. Several of my co-workers did not file expense claims in the order of thousands of dollars and I thought that was obtuse. Yet there I was, working 80 hours a week and getting paid for 40, effectively reducing my hourly salary to half. Stupid isn't a strong enough word or descriptive enough word for what I did.

A Personal mistake because - and I can only speak from my experience - I paid for that free time I gave to the company with more than lost income. I paid for it with my health and more important to me - my peace of mind. Overwork and exhaustion made me prone to anxiety and directly caused me to lose sleep and my appetite. I would wake up after 2 hours of sleep in cold sweat thinking of all the unachievable deadlines. Unachievable purely due to logistical reasons. If you throw one person at a three-person job, you won't be able to meet a deadline. Under-delivering is swindling the client. Far too many EPCMs engage in this far too often.

A Professional mistake because you will burn out like I did. If you enjoy your work, don't make this mistake because you'll pay for it with your career. I don't know if I can say I was fortunate that I didn't particularly love my line of work to begin with, so it didn't matter that I permanently burnt out. But if this were a field I was truly passionate about, I would be bitter at the company for taking away something from me that I enjoyed - my work, my means of livelihood.