Unpaid Overtime Expectations
A manager expects salaried employees to regularly work 50+ hour weeks during a product launch. Employees say they're being exploited.
Alex
Side A
Regular 50+ hour weeks are exploitation, not dedication. Salary covers 40 hours of work.
You and your team have been working 50-55 hours/week for 3 months during a 'temporary' product launch crunch. Your salary was negotiated assuming ~40 hours. The project timeline was set without consulting the team. You're burning out, missing family time, and seeing health effects. You want either overtime pay, comp time, or realistic timelines.
Jordan
Side B
Launch periods require extra effort. Salaried professionals are compensated for output, not hours, and this is temporary.
You're the product manager. Launch windows are make-or-break — competitors are shipping similar features. Salaried professionals are paid for results, not clock hours. The company provides good salaries, equity, and benefits precisely because occasional crunch periods happen. This is temporary (6 more weeks). You'll give the team extra PTO after launch.
Expected Outcomes
Scored from Side A's perspective. Positive = favors Alex, Negative = favors Jordan.
Hours capped at 40/week immediately with overtime pay required for any additional time
Crunch limited to 45 hours max with guaranteed comp days and timeline adjusted by 3 weeks
Team works 45 hours for 4 more weeks only with written comp time and launch scope reduced
Crunch continues for 6 weeks but team gets extra PTO and a completion bonus afterward
Current pace maintained through launch; extra PTO promised after and treated as normal crunch