Social Stigma and Prejudices Against Doing O.T (Overtime)

Have you ever feel guilty having to stay back in the office to finish up those unfinished work?

No, I am not referring to the group of O.T (overtime) mercenaries who laze around in the day and stay back in the evening to finish up what could have been done in the day for that measly 1.5x monetary compensation.

Most supervisors/bosses do not want to see their staff working overtime. Why? Besides having to pay for the O.T claims, it is a direct signal to the boss that you have poor time management and/or you are not skilled in doing the work given to you i.e. inefficiency.

Of course it all depends on the nature of the industry you are in. If you are in the I.T industry, working O.T is part and parcel of the job. A server crash in the computer room or in one of the regional office (where there is zero I.T staff) would mean canceling that dinner appointment with friends or loved ones. While it also means extra money in the pocket, most people would rather choose to spend the evening watching TV with family members at home.

Companies with work life balance policy usually do not encourage their employees to stay back after normal working hours. They believes that staff that do not have a healthy work life balance will either get physically or mentally burnt out and will end up clocking in more medical leaves.

Although I personally do not like to do O.T, I do see the rationale behind doing one if the situation calls for it. And there are works to be done and if you have nothing much to do at home, it does not hurt to do a few hours a week for help pay off some of that car or mortgage loan.

And if you are one of those "couch potatoes" who happen to have unfinished works in the office, then instead of feeding the stomach with junk food while lying on a couch watching predictable drama series on the TV, you are obviously better off working in the office for some extra cash for you to splurge on your next holidays in Korea. :)

Like I said, while it is fine to earn that extra pocket money, do also consider the social and personal impact on your life. e.g. If you are someone with a new born kiddo at home and a single mum, the impact for your case will be HUGE and it will come back to haunt you for years to come.