There are many questions, both appropriate and downright weird, that employers, managers, and HR peeps sometimes ask during job interviews. We’ve compiled a list of such questions many times – and it turns out that more than one job seeker has actually encountered something similar. Today’s situation is no exception.

The user u/sahalymn, the author of the story we are about to tell you today, recently went to an interview at a company from which they didn’t expect the slightest trick. However, literally the very first question during the interview actually embarrassed them and made them suspect that it was a joke. Already intrigued? Then let’s read on.

More info: Reddit

The author of the post recently attended a job interview for an interesting position with a decent salary

Image credits: Drazen Zigic / Freepik (not the actual photo)

However, the very first question was about the job seeker’s attitude toward working unpaid overtime

Image credits: sahalymn

Image credits: EyeEm / Freepik (not the actual photo)

The author was baffled and thought it was just a joke – but it turned out it actually wasn’t

Image credits: sahalymn

Image credits: Wavebreak Media / Freepik (not the actual photo)

The manager said that everyone in the company is incredibly eager to get things done, so they don’t even track overtime hours

Image credits: sahalymn

The author then just stood up and walked out, considering this a big red flag

So, the Original Poster (OP) is looking for a job (at least a few of their other posts are also dedicated to job interviews and open positions), and they recently received an invitation to an interview for a position that they were very interested in. The salary that the company was offering for this vacancy was also more than decent.

But literally the first question that the author was asked by the company representatives during the interview was how they felt about working unpaid overtime. The job seeker was surprised and even asked for clarification, expecting this to be a joke, but they were told the same thing straight out – working overtime without any additional compensation. It turned out that this is, well… a company tradition.

According to the manager themselves, everyone in the company is so passionate about their work that they literally do not leave their workplace until all tasks for the day are completed. And if this means free overtime work, then so be it. Moreover, according to the manager, the company doesn’t track extra hours at all.

Now everything became clear to the author. They stood up, politely thanked them for their time, but admitted that this wasn’t the right fit for them. After which they calmly left. But now, after some time, the original poster has begun to be tormented by doubts – did they do the right thing in this situation? After all, both the position itself and the salary were quite interesting.

Image credits: wirestock / Freepik (not the actual photo)

If you’re wondering whether it’s even legal to work overtime for free, don’t rush to say “no.” As with almost any business situation, there are many nuances. For example, this dedicated article on Clockify points out that, yes, in most cases, working unpaid overtime is illegal – but there are exceptions. For example, such work may be classified as “voluntary.”

In other words, your employment contract will not stipulate that you are required to work overtime, but it is at your own discretion. And, accordingly, once such a practice becomes a “corporate tradition,” you will not be able to de facto leave your workplace on time. Moreover, overtime hours, as we saw in the post above, are not tracked by the company.

If the employer fails to follow the overtime rules stipulated in an employment contract, then, as Punchwork notes, “the employee could pursue a claim for damages due to breach of contract.” But, here, since such a question is asked first during a job interview, it means that, most likely, there have already been precedents of a clash of interests between employees and the company.

People in the comments also agree that the OP did absolutely the right thing. After all, if they are a conscientious and experienced specialist in their field, they will find a job in any case. So putting up with such things is, according to the responders, completely unacceptable. By the way, have you, our dear readers, ever encountered something like this at work?

Most commenters just said the applicant was right since such corporate practice is completely inappropriate

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