Unexpected things happen, especially at work, so a person might find themselves staying at their desk a little longer than usual. But when such unexpected situations arise, it’s completely normal to expect to be compensated for them.

Or so this person thought. Upon going to an interview with a start-up, they learned how the company deals with such situations, which made the candidate withdraw the application without blinking. Scroll down to find the full story in their own words, as well as their recent interview with Bored Panda in the text below.

It’s not unusual for employees to expect to be compensated for working overtime

Image credits: monkeybusiness / evanto (not the actual photo)

This person withdrew their application after they learned how employees at this start-up were compensated

Image credits: cottonbro studio / pexels (not the actual photo)

Like any other place of employment, a start-up, too, boasts advantages and disadvantages

Image credits: Austin Distel / unsplash (not the actual photo)

While each job boasts a unique set of challenges, start-ups—similarly to established corporations—tend to present some that are quite common to companies of this sort.

The author of Beyond The Startup and Building Corporate Soul and a founding partner of Spark44, Ralf Specht, pointed out that there are three main things to consider before applying to a start-up, which could be considered advantageous or disadvantageous, depending on your personality and what you’re looking for in your professional life.

The first one is the fact that you might be expected to give 150% of your effort. “This is important, as the extreme uncertainty found in these environments is often balanced by the drive and passion of the leadership team and their belief in the company’s mission or purpose,” Specht wrote for the Harvard Business Review. “Uncertainty paired with passion is what gives startups their energy.”

The second point the expert made was that working in a start-up requires being flexible and resilient, as there’s likely to be quite a lot of trial and error at such a place of employment. However, according to Ralf Specht, such an environment provides immense opportunities for growth as well.

“I love flexibility in start-ups; I’m a person that hates doing the same thing all the time,” the OP told Bored Panda in a recent interview. “Early on in my career, I got a lot of experience doing a little of everything because that’s what you need to do. I think working in start-ups just exponentially increases your experience because you don’t have other people to rely on; you can just go test stuff, which is honestly pretty great.”

“What I don’t like is the disorganization,” they added, covering the other side of the coin. “Sometimes, you go into a company, and one hand doesn’t know what the other is doing, or no one is aligned on goals, or you’re just kind of following the strategy the CEO read about in a blog post at 2 am the previous night. Which, I say that, but the CEOs are new to being CEOs too; not everyone has that super clear vision of where they want to go with the know-how to get them there.”

The candidate admitted being shocked by the expectations regarding working overtime

Image credits: Resume Genius / unsplash (not the actual photo)

The candidate shared with Bored Panda that they were a little shocked to learn about the company’s stance regarding working overtime. “I hadn’t heard the ‘we don’t count our hours’ thing since the very beginning of my career, and every place I’d worked since was very strict about working hours.

“The overall trend in tech is moving towards less work: 4-hour workweeks, flexible Fridays, and unlimited PTO (paid time off), so I was just taken aback to hear someone flippantly describing people who liked to work their hours as lazy.”

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The OP is far from the only one prioritizing a healthy work-life balance over the company’s success; according to Zippia, more than seven-in-ten workers consider such balance an important factor when choosing a job, and nearly six-in-ten say they see poor work-life balance as a dealbreaker when choosing a new place of employment.

As a matter of fact, a healthy work-life balance nowadays seems to be more important than ever. According to 2021 data, in some countries, such as Sweden or the UK, it’s even more sought after than financial compensation or benefits. (In the US, for instance, the two seem to be close competitors, with job security third on the list.)

“It absolutely has become more important than ever,” the OP agreed. “I’ve been working remotely since long before the pandemic, and especially for remote workers, that work-life balance is critical. When you don’t have a physical office to go to, work can bleed into your personal life, and you can burn out super easily.”

They shared their ways of maintaining a healthy work-life balance

Image credits: Brooke Cagle / unsplash (not the actual photo)

While discussing the significance of a healthy work-life balance, the OP discussed their ways of making sure the scale doesn’t tip in either direction, revealing that the first one is working the same hours every day. “I’m available from X time to X time and I disconnect everything after that time finishes up.

“If I do work later to accommodate someone else, I start later or leave earlier the next day. Or I’ll take a longer lunch,” they continued, before adding that they don’t use their personal computer or phone for work-related matters (except for a rare emergency or for posting a meme on one of the meme-dedicated channels at work). “When I have weekends or other time off, I fully disconnect; I even disconnect from LinkedIn.

“I also choose companies and managers that fall into the same ideals I do about work-life balance. I look out for red flags in job descriptions that tell me a company isn’t going to be compatible with me,” they pointed out, which explains why they were quick to withdraw their application from the start-up company in the story. “I recognize that especially that last part is a huge privilege, and that not everyone has that option. But if you do, you absolutely should.”

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The candidate provided more details in the comments

Fellow netizens shared their views on the matter, too

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Some people have encountered similar situations themselves

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