Overtime

This is an interactive story. It is fiction, but based on ethical challenges faced in real workplaces. Because it is an interactive story, you will be asked to make choices, and the choices you make affect how the story unfolds. But this is a story, not a test. There are no right or wrong answers -- just choices that make the story unfold in different ways. At the end, you’ll be given the chance to go back to the beginning, and to see how the story unfolds if you make different choices. NOTE: please don't use the "back" button on your browser (doing so will send you back to this page!) Go ahead and click to [[start the story....|Start1]] <hr> © Copyright Choice Point Solutions, Inc.

You’ve been working for a month now at Harris Consulting, a small market research firm working primarily in the personal computing sector. You spend your day making phone calls, extracting data from various companies in the sector so that you can aggregate the data, which Harris then sells as ‘insights.’ It’s a six-month contract, but if it goes well you’re pretty sure you could get hired on full-time. [[Next...|1.The ask]]

Late one Friday afternoon, you’re sitting at your cubicle when your supervisor, Devon, taps you on the shoulder. You turn in your chair and smile at Devon. “Hey hey!” says Devon, with a friendly smile. “How’s your section of the TGC report going?” “Pretty good,” you say proudly. “It’s basically done. I was just going to build the Table of Contents for the overall report Monday morning, and have both of those to you in the afternoon. I know the rest of the team is just finishing their sections, too, so I think we’re on schedule.” Devon makes a face. “Ewww, I’m afraid I need it sooner than that. I want to submit the report to TGC on Monday, so I need you to stay a few extra hours tonight to help finish up. I know you’re on a fixed contract, and you know I can’t pay you anything extra — there’s absolutely no budget for overtime — but I would appreciate the help.” [[You respond positively.|2. Positive response]] [[You respond negatively.|11.Negative response from 1]]

You say: [["Sure thing. Anything to help!"|3. Thanks]] [["Uh, yeah I guess."|3. Thanks]] [["I really don’t think it’s fair to ask on a Friday afternoon, but just this once I’ll do it."|3. Thanks]]

You’ve decided to say “no” to Devon’s request. You say: [[“Sorry, Devon, I can’t. It’s been a long week and I’m exhausted.”|12. Exhausted]] [[“No way, Devon. Get someone else to do it.”|13. Get someone else]]

Devon nods appreciatively. "That’s great. Thanks. I knew I could count on you." [[Next|4. Another ask]]

A week and a half later, you’re in the company’s small lunch room, eating leftovers out of a plastic container, when Devon walks in. “Hey hey! How you doing? Look, I need a favour, and I know you’re a team player. We just got a call from a key client, and they want a ‘quickie’ report on sales trends for personal printers. Nothing crazy, no fancy formatting, just the numbers. But here’s the crazy part. They want it tomorrow for some meeting they’ve got with one of their clients. So I need you to stick around for a few hours this evening to help me pull it together.” You’re not thrilled at the idea. Though he hasn’t said so, it’s pretty clear that Devon is asking for free labour again. You want to be helpful, but you also don’t like to be taken advantage of. [[You respond positively.|5. Pos resp to 2nd ask]] [[You respond negatively.|7. Neg resp to 2nd ask]]

You say: [[“Sure thing,” you say. “Anything to help!”|6. Thanks, again]] [[“Uh, yeah I guess,” you say. “This is becoming a pattern, eh?”|6. Thanks, again]] [[“I really don’t think this sort of thing is fair,” you say, “but I want to be a team player.”|6. Thanks, again]]

You say: [[“No, sorry, I can’t,” you tell Devon. “I’ve got plans after work today.”|7a. No, got plans]] [[“No, sorry, I can’t” you tell Devon. “That’s outside of my contract.”|7b. No, the contract]] [[“No, sorry, I can’t,” you tell Devon. “It’s illegal to ask me to work without pay.”|7c. No, the law]]

“Amazing,” says Devon, with a huge smile. “I’m glad you’re part of the team! [[Next.|10. The ask spreads]]

“Contract?” Devon asks. “You think life is about contracts? I’m talking loyalty. I was hoping you were more of a team player.” [[You decide it’s not worth the fight, so you give in.|6. Thanks, again]] [[You won’t be pushed around, so you stand firm.|8. Whatever]]

“Illegal?” Devon asks. “You a lawyer now? C’mon, I’m asking you to work a couple of hours, not to rob a bank.” [[You decide it’s not worth the fight, so you give in.|6. Thanks, again]] [[You won’t be pushed around, so you stand firm.|8. Whatever]]

“Help your mom with ‘some things’?” Devon asks. “That’s pretty weak. Can’t you help your mom tomorrow? Or Sunday? I need to you today.” [[You decide it’s not worth the fight, so you give in.|6. Thanks, again]] [[You won’t be pushed around, so you stand firm.|8. Whatever]]

After the weekend, you return to work. The first person you see when you enter the office is Sana. In the two weeks you’ve been at the company, Sana has become one of your favourite people. She’s on the same kind of contract as you, but started a couple of months earlier. You figure Sana must be around 30, but but frankly she looks younger. Widowed in her mid 20’s, she has 3 kids under 10, and works tending bar on the weekend to make ends meet. Sana smiles at you cheerfully, but looks tired. “Hi there, Sana,” you greet her. “How are you?” “Fine,” she sighs. Then she looks over her shoulder, making sure there’s no one else within earshot. “But I’m exhausted. I had to work overtime on Saturday, because Devon said we absolutely had to get the TGC report finished. I tried to say no, but he said everyone else was willing — and that you for example had worked on it on Friday evening. So I caved in. I had to get my mom to come over to my place for the day to watch the kids, which isn’t easy for her because it’s an hour on the bus to get to my place.” “That sucks,” you tell her, feeling slightly guilty that you had contributed in a small way to her problems by working Friday evening. You tell Sana: [[“But I’m sure it’s worth it in the long run. Devon values team players.”|10a. I guess]] [[“I’m sorry to hear it. That must have been really difficult."|10b. It was]] [[“That’s ridiculous. It’s not fair for Devon to push you into extra work like that. Your situation is different from mine.”|10c. You're right]]

“Whatever,” says Devon. “I thought you were a team player. Have a good weekend.” [[Next|9. Co-worker is forced]]

After a quiet weekend at home, you return to work Monday morning, bright and early. The first person you see, already at her desk when you enter the office, is Sana. In the two weeks you’ve been at the company, Sana has become one of your favourite people. She’s on the same kind of contract as you, but started a couple of months earlier. You figure that Sana must be around 30, but she looks younger. Widowed in her mid 20’s, she has 3 kids under 10, and works tending bar on the weekend to make ends meet. Sana smiles at you cheerfully, but looks tired. “Hi there, Sana,” you greet her. “How are you?” “Fine,” she says. Then she looks over her shoulder, making sure there’s no one else within earshot. “But to be honest I’m exhausted. I had to work overtime on Friday, because Devon said we absolutely had to get the TGC report finished, and no one else was available to do it. I had to get my mom to pick up my kids at school. I was here until 9 or 10 that night, and then back in here again for a few hours Saturday morning.” “That sucks,” you tell her. You don’t mention the fact that you had dodged doing the extra work yourself. You tell Sana: [[“But I’m sure it’s worth it in the long run. Devon values team players.”|9a. I guess]] [[“I’m sorry to hear it. That must have been really difficult.”|9b. It was]] [[“That’s ridiculous. It’s not fair for Devon to push you into extra work like that.”|9c. You're right]]

“I guess,” says Sana. “But not seeing my kids is hard. And like I said, I’m exhausted.” [[Next|15. More overtime for Sana]]

“It was,” says Sana. “Not seeing my kids is really hard. And like I said, now I’m exhausted.” [[Next|15. More overtime for Sana]]

“You’re right," says Sana. I need to do a better job of standing up for myself.” [[Next|14. Sana fired]]

The following Tuesday, you walk into the lunchroom a little after noon and find Sana wolfing down the second half of her sandwich. “Hey there,” she says. “Sorry I can’t stay to chat. “I’ve got piles of work right now, and Devon wants me to stay late again tonight.” You cringe. Sana is great, but it’s clear that she has now become the go-to person when Devon wants to bully someone into extra, unpaid work. And unfortunately, at the end of your six-month contract, Devon tells you that “sadly” the company won’t be able to keep you on any longer. You open your laptop, and start reviewing your C.V. [[End|16. End]]

A week later, you find Sana crying in the lunch room. “What’s up?” you ask, alarmed. “Yesterday I told Devon I wasn’t doing any more unpaid overtime,” she says. “And coincidentally this morning Devon called me in and told me that my contract isn’t being renewed after my six months are up. And I, like, really need this job.” The good news, you learn later that day, is that your own contract has been renewed for another six months. But the overall mood in the office makes it hard to celebrate. [[End|16. End]]

“I guess,” says Sana. “But not seeing my kids is hard. And like I said, I’m exhausted.” [[Next|15. More overtime for Sana]]

“It was,” says Sana. “Not seeing my kids is really hard. And like I said, now I’m exhausted.” [[Next|15. More overtime for Sana]]

“You’re right," says Sana. I need to do a better job of standing up for myself.” [[Next|14. Sana fired]]

“Exhausted?” Devon asks. “We all put in the same hours here. I’ll ask one of your ‘exhausted’ co-workers if they can do it.” Do you... [[Shrug your shoulders and leave for the day.|9. Co-worker is forced]] [[Give in, and agree to stay.|3. Thanks]]

“Someone else?” Devon asks. “Sure, I’ll go ask one of the real team players.” Do you... [[Shrug your shoulders and leave for the day.|9. Co-worker is forced]] [[Give in, and agree to stay.|3. Thanks]]

OK, so, you're done this scenario. Sticking up for yourself in the face of an unfair requests is hard. Sometimes it's easier to give in -- but as this story illustrates, sometimes giving in ends up making life hard for someone else, later. You can exit this scenario by closing your browser, or go back to the [[start|Start]] to go through it again.