Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

Unpaid overtime is almost always followed by undertime, i.e., people not working.

Unpaid overtime is a fact. It is not just a recent occurrence as it has occurred for, oh, let’s say, centuries. People work extra hard for a period of time (hopefully a short period of time).

Then what happens?

People “make up” for the unpaid hours by taking longer lunches, arriving late in the morning, leaving early in the evening, or (more likely) all three. These activities are undertime.

This has something to do with human nature I suppose. People can’t sprint forever. That is why it is called a sprint. Unpaid overtime is a sprint. People rest after sprinting.

If you ask people to sprint, i.e., work overtime without any extra pay, expect them to rest afterwards. If you cannot afford to have them rest, pay them for the overtime.

This is, yet another, example of the adage:

there is no free lunch

If you thought there was a free lunch, sorry to disappoint you.