Why in the heck do so many people in IT work for free?

My boss tries to be reasonable with flex time, though there are a few moments where the implication is that after working late on a mid-week change, you will still come in at normal time. Some people feed into that fear, but I ain't married to this place so I'll usually email "worked late, will be arriving by x:xx.

What really gets me are the overachievers that give themselves the 50-60+ hour weeks in an attempt to look good. There's one guy on the team in the same position as me that consistently does this, often overextending himself, and the boss doesn't really seem to have much respect for him at all. His ideas are shut down quick, and any error he makes is much more broadcast. I, on the other hand, do what I'm told and despite being over 20 years Mr. Overachiever's junior, the boss speaks to me with respect.

Just remember guys, if you've created an illusion of voluntarily overachieving = success, just remember that desperation reeks and many people don't get promoted because they are too good for their own current job. Free labor might literally harm your career.

/r/sysadmin Thread