Worker Leaves Interview & Ghosts Recruiter After Finding Out The Job Expects ‘80 Hour Weeks’ & In-Office Weekends
He wasn't willing to sacrifice his personal time and well-being for the company.
GaudiLab / Shutterstock.com With almost a quarter of employees admitting to burnout from their jobs, it’s no surprise that one of the most important benefits for potential employees is work-life balance. Unfortunately, not all employers feel the same way.
After finishing a couple of informal job interviews, one man took to Reddit after a potential employer truly shocked him with their disregard for this kind of balance for their employees.
They were relatively upfront about their expectations — 80-hour work weeks and in-office weekends. “Immediately after leaving the interview,” he wrote in his post, “I messaged the recruiter that the role wasn’t a great fit … then ghosted.”
A worker was caught off guard during a job interview when the recruiter admitted they expected ‘70 to 80 hour weeks’ and in-office weekends.
“I was told in a very cold tone, ‘We'd expect you to work 70 to 80 hours a week with weekends in the office. Our firm doesn't work from home. It's not like your current firm.’”
Unfortunately, even for employees who have the capacity or motivation to work these long hours, most employers aren’t keeping tabs. Even those straining themselves to meet 70-hour work weeks and become “high performers” in the workplace risk job instability at the hands of their corporate leaders.
It’s exactly why the job interview with this potential employer was a huge red flag for the Reddit man — not only were they expecting long hours and strenuous weekends away from family, but they were unsettlingly upfront about it.
If they knew the people they were hiring were willing to work these long hours and weekends, it was possible to take advantage of them in other ways, as well.
Before the interview, the recruiter misguidedly told him the employer ‘makes an effort’ to prioritize work-life balance.
“The recruiter previously told me that ‘they're aware of the long hours in the industry and make an effort to give their team more [work-life balance] compared to other firms.’ I tried not to laugh at how oblivious these people were as I stared at the three sets of initials on my monitor. Really wanted to end it then and there.”
After the impersonal interview with each member of leadership off-camera, he was already fighting a gut feeling that this employer wasn’t the right fit, but after hearing the work-hour requirements, he was set.
Drazen Zigic / Shutterstock.com
“Immediately after leaving the meeting, I messaged the recruiter … [I told them to] please withdraw my candidacy. Recruiter starts spamming me with phone calls and emails asking me what happened in the interview lol. Ghosted. On to the next one.”
It’s a humbling reminder of the toxic job market right now, and, of course, the toxicity of many workplaces in corporate industries.
The more you give to employers, the more they’re willing to take — draining and overworking employees with good intentions before they can build a healthy space to grow.
While it ended up being a waste of his time, this worker saved himself from a potentially toxic workplace environment.
At the end of the day, employees need to be selfishly cognizant of their well-being during the job search and interviewing process. Especially in the current economy and job market, it can be easy to get desperate and accept the first job offer or interview.
It’s why “bridge jobs” like serving or working as a barista are so important. They give you the freedom to make money while you search for your next career. While the stigma of these jobs often keeps people from taking them on, they can help to protect you from a situation like this — where you feel forced to accept an unhealthy position to pay the bills.
Commenters agreed, sharing that many employers haven’t even tried to hide their disregard for their employees. “Your family time and general sanity are worth much more,” one person honestly wrote. “If they’re expecting double the work, they should be offering double the pay.”
In alignment with overtime expectations and working regulations for salaried employees, employers should feel pressured to offer more competitive wages—at the very least—to any employee they’re expecting to work long hours, especially if they’re cutting into weekends.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a News & Entertainment Writer at YourTango who focuses on health & wellness, social policy, and human interest stories.