Should I tell my boss that I am doing a crazy amount of overtime?

Question

I work at a big tech company as an individual contributor. We are approaching an important launch where I'm playing a key role. There is no strict deadline, but I'd like to make sure it's finished before the next promo cycle—in hope for a promotion for me and some other folks on the team, so I have set a soft deadline with my manager and a few team members.

The deadline is approaching and we are far from being ready, some milestones have already slipped and I keep discovering problems, partly because I have underestimated certain tasks. I really want this project to be ready on time, so I've been working a lot more recently—last week roughly 70-80 hours, including 10 hours/day every day on the extended weekend (Monday was a holiday). My manager does not know exactly what parts are missing and how complicated/long each task is. He mostly trusts me that I know what needs to be done, and I'll take care of it. My manager also doesn't know when I work and when I don't work - it's trust-based at the company. Figuring out when someone is working requires some investigation (build logs, commit activity, etc.), so I doubt that my manager looks into those - he trusts me, so why would he care?

Should I tell him about it?

Some arguments for yes:

• He should know that the project is important to me which he may value.
• He should be aware that these tasks take a lot more effort than we expected and the reason for the slipping is not that I'm neglecting the project.
• I may get some bonus / time off after the launch if my manager is aware of the overtime.

Some arguments for no:

• It would prove that I made bad estimations and could not manage the project properly - which may cause trust problems in the future. It may also be a negative signal in the promo process.
• My manager may just tell me not to do any overtime—the project is not mission critical. It's mostly because I want the promo (and some teammates who have contributed deserve it too).
• It's officially forbidden to do overtime without prior manager approval.

If I tell him, what should I say?

I have a fixed monthly salary which does not depend on the hours worked—I am supposed to work 40 hours/week. I am eligible for performance-related bonuses, though. These are given for achieving things, not directly for working overtime.

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Thanks for all the replies. I talked to my manager who valued speaking up and thanked for putting in the effort to bring the project through the finish line. We also discussed that once the project is launched, this shouldn't be the norm, but he shared my view that these difficulties were hard/impossible to foresee.

Answer 1

Yes, you absolutely should tell your boss.

This level of work is not sustainable, and frankly, you are harming yourself. This point is covered very well in LoremIpsum's answer.

Is this behaviour you should be promoted for?

This is a really important point. You say you are going for a promotion, however you are:

• Attempting to hide mistakes rather than own them and fix them properly with help
• Lying to your manager (not telling them something is lying by omission)
• Actively harming yourself through overwork
• Potentially harming your manager or team mates if this high-risk strategy doesn't come off and you give them no warning
• Abusing your manager's trust in you

As a manager, I have to say I don't promote people who work this way. It is detrimental to themselves and everyone around them. If I give them a team of people to look after, why would I think they would do anything else than push those people in to stressful overtime as well?

No-one is perfect, I don't expect my people to never make mistakes. I expect them to let me know they've made a mistake as soon as they realise it will be a problem. If they can outline a solution as well, so much the better, but we work as a team. We succeed or fail together, and that means being open and honest. That is why I trust my people. Not because they don't make mistakes, they do. But they are honest and they learn from their mistakes.

But they might think I'm not able to handle the responsibility if I'm honest...

...and I'm afraid they would be right. Not because of the initial mistake – we've all underestimated time scales before; it's the nature of work. However, your subsequent behaviour of hiding the truth and trying to fix a worsening situation by yourself has absolutely demonstrated this.

Be honest with your manager. Immediately. The sooner you are, the sooner they can help you fix or mitigate this problem. The sooner you open up to them about the reality, the better this situation will be. Leave it too late and that is when people are angry. You have made a few mistakes. Own them and learn from them before it is too late, and use the experience to work towards the promotion you desire.

Finally, I know this is a harsh answer; I understand that it may be difficult to read, and for that, I am truly sorry. However, this is exactly what I would say to you if I were your manager.

Answer 2

Tell him as soon as possible if you are thinking on the long run.

By repeatedly doing overtime, you are setting a standard that your body cannot withstand for long before collapsing.

Whether or not you get the promotion, you will be held to that standard. So even if later you try to slow down to a normal pace, your manager, whoever he will be, won't like it; it will seem that you started under-performing. And if you actually get the promotion and then decide you tell him, he will say: "Wait, only now, after you got the promotion, you come and tell me you were overworking?"

And, as you said, he could figure out if you were overworking if he wanted. Are you willing to play that luck game? Remember: The task of managers is to manage. It's not nice to manage false data. If he trusts you, he won't be happy later to find out he wasn't managing reality, but a theater play.

Bottom line is don't regularly work beyond a sustainable level. Exceptions are fine, as long as they are exceptions. Short and remunerated.

Answer 3

I clearly see red flags:

1. Clearly, you are not catching-up with your manager every week/bi-weekly
2. If you did, you are not really talking about the work in hand: how it's coming about, what the big issues are, and how you solved/ought to solve them.
3. And if you really did, then you would not have written this post.

I worked for a startup in exactly your situation. Full trust from the founder of the company. I worked 14-15hrs/day of work for 1.5 years; no holidays; no family; no personal time. Finally, I ended up with permanent damage to my backbone (spinal cord), and acute neck pain. Finally got fired. Take lessons from me.

1. It's ok to delay. It's ok to slip. It's ok to be bashed in team meetings.
2. Health is important. Don't trade health for a promotion – which may or may not arrive.

Answer 4

Fact is, you are killing yourself by working 70 hours a week. The other fact is that you are doing it for nothing. Nobody will thank you for your 30 hours extra work. Especially since you are probably deep in a state already where you are not effective anymore.

Tell your boss right now what you are doing, and whatever they say, stop doing it. Or when you burn out completely, you will just be replaced with a fresh model.

Answer 5

Never, never, never assume that your boss knows what is going on with your projects. In most cases, they are already so overworked with stuff beyond what you are working on that they don't have time to find out what you are doing. It is your responsibility to tell your boss what is happening - both formally in weekly status reports, daily updates, Slack or Team chats, and informal communications when you can catch your boss in the hallway / break room / etc. You have to let your boss know your struggles and get the resources from your boss to meet any deadlines.

So, by not telling your boss, you are already not doing your job. Remember, your job is not just to deliver a project, it is to help the company do better. You do not help the company by burning yourself out or by working so hard that you start to make serious judgement errors on your projects.

Answer 6

I think the part “It's officially forbidden to do overtime without prior manager approval.” should be telling enough, unless that ‘officially’ part means that it’s just a rule that in reality no one is expected to follow. But if he assumes you’re following the rules and you’re not, it could land you in more trouble than not finishing the project on your desired time. Keep in mind good managers prefer to avoid employees burning out because it’s extremely costly for the company too, aside from any moral issues.