‘Manager wants me to work after hours’: Techie says he was compared to colleague working 17 hours a day

A software professional with nearly 12 years of experience has opened up about mounting pressure at work, claiming that his manager expects him to put in extra hours and work on weekends because a senior colleague follows an extreme schedule.A techie shared that repeated complaints from a software architect had led his manager to demand extra hours and weekend work. (Representational image/Gemini AI generated)(Also read: ‘My manager told me not to work over 40 hours a week’: Indian woman compares New Zealand and Indian work culture)Taking to Reddit, the techie said he works as a developer at a leading product based software company and usually handles complex responsibilities. He joined the organisation two years ago alongside another developer who has around six years of experience.Architect’s working hours become the benchmarkThe employee claimed that the project’s software architect, who has around 20 years of experience, regularly works from 7 am until midnight and continues working on weekends.“He is good technically and has domain knowledge, which is required a lot in this project,” the techie wrote. However, he alleged that the architect frequently complains to their manager that he is “not performing at par” with his experience and is not contributing enough.(Also read: Employee says manager verbally approved leave, then imposed last minute condition: ‘Finish the work first’)The developer also claimed that the architect repeatedly raises minor objections during code reviews. “Whenever I raise a PR, he keeps creating issues like, ‘Why did you add extra space?’ etc,” he said.According to the employee, his assigned responsibilities are frequently changed from one task to another. He alleged that the architect later questions why the original assignment remains incomplete, even though he had been instructed to prioritise different work.“He keeps changing my assigned work from A to B to C and then complains that I have not completed A and that it has been pending for the last four to six months, even though I was working on C the entire time,” he wrote.Manager asks employee to contribute moreThe techie said his manager initially questioned the architect’s complaints but eventually began pressuring him to work beyond regular office hours.“My manager is asking me to put in extra hours after office and on weekends, while giving me the architect’s example and saying, ‘He is making so much contribution,’” the employee claimed.The manager reportedly also said the company was going through difficult times, despite the organisation continuing to earn money and hire more employees.The Reddit post was titled, “Manager literally asking to work out of office hours.”Reddit users advise setting boundariesReacting to the post, one user wrote, “Just change your department or leave the company. They are taking advantage of you and clearly do not care about your well being.”Another advised the employee to secure another job before resigning, adding, “Sometimes, it is important to communicate your boundaries firmly and assertively.”“I was in a similar situation, and it was exhausting. I am also trying to change departments,” a third user shared. Another commenter sympathised, writing, “That’s really sad, brother. I can relate to what you’re going through.”(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)