Overtime or fondly known as OT in Singapore is a common cause of complains among office and non-office workers. It is perhaps the main reason why Singapore has a falling birth rate – so busy working, where got time to make baby leh?

Despite the seriousness of not getting work-life balance, there are still many people who are slaving away in the office after working hours are officially over. Why?

Do OT for the sake of my promotion
Some of us are just unlucky to have a boss who never goes home, and he expects you to stay late into the night with him if you want a promotion. These kind of OT is literally forced on you, because if you don’t OT, you can stop expecting a promotion of any sort. In fact, you might need to pray hard for a bonus and a pay rise of $50 at the end of the year!

Do OT because my boss think I “bo zuo gang”
There is another kind of boss who thinks that you “bo zuo gang” if you go home on the dot at 6pm every day. Never mind the fact that you need to pick the kids from childcare, or that you need to rush home to cook dinner for your growing children. He also doesn’t care that for the past 8 hours, you are working hard at your desk, doing all the things that you should be doing. As long as you are leaving on the dot, that means you are not giving enough work, or that you “bo zuo gang”!

Do OT because my boss thinks I am very capable
On the flip side of the coin, there are capable people who are doing OT because their workload is double that of others. These are the people who will eventually leave the company when they have had enough. They do more than the rest of the team, and often the first to reach and the last to leave because they are seen as more capable than the rest.

Do OT because I want to be seen as hardworking
Sadly, there are some people who waste their time during official working hours by surfing Facebook, or walking to the toilet and pantry a hundred times. Then once the clock strike 6pm, they are suddenly very busy! “Oh…so busy leh…cannot go home liao!”

Sounds familiar? Must be talking about your colleagues, right?

Do OT because I cannot work in the day
This is possibly the worst kind of colleagues to have. By claiming that they cannot work in the day because #noisy, they will hang around after office hours to work and spoil market. Your boss will think they are more hardworking lor (see point no. 3)

Do OT because I don’t want to hear my wife nag
Unfortunately, this is true for some men that I know. Rather than going home to a warm home-cooked meal and spend quality time with their wives and children, some men claim that their wives are too naggy. Hence, they rather stay in the office till late, dine out alone or with their friends and arrive home shortly behind bedtime. Well, I suppose this is still better than knocking off on time and heading to the bars!

Do OT because my boss is not working
Some unfortunately souls have it hard. They could be a deputy of sort in the office and back up the boss in management. They might be earning a lot of money, but they slave away in the office doing OT till late night every day because the boss “taichi” everything to them. Oh, and they are likely not going to get any credits for the work they do as well.

Do OT Because 1.5 Times Salary!
If you are entitled to OT pay, you would want to stay back because the pay is higher. Now, at least this is a legit reason to do OT, isn’t it?

Do OT Because You Didn’t Even Know You’re Doing It
Sometimes, it can be confusing to employees when it comes to working OT. Does working 1 hour beyond your official working hours count towards OT? If you are working an official 6-hours work day, and work 5 days a week, you will technically need to work an additional 15 hours to qualify for a 1-hour OT pay. But for simplicity’s sake, just know this: the maximum hours you’re supposed to work is 44 hours a week. Any minute more, and it’s OT.

You know, just like the data plan you have in your phone: one megabyte more and you’ll be charged with the excess fee.

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This article was first published on goodyfeed.com

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