Recently someone asked a question on LinkedIn’s Technology Leaders Association discussion group regarding “working overtime in IT.” The topic had to do with whether this should be an expectation and how to handle salaried employees that will only agree to put in 40 hours. The comment was made that these individuals “are not as invested in or excited about their career.” The question was how to handle this situation, without coming across as saying “Work more or I’ll find someone who will.”

The asker didn’t want to go down the “legalese” discussion path.

There were quite a few good answers… I’ve attached mine below (with edits for linking.) Let me know what you think!

This is an interesting question, and very pertinent now, especially when companies have a shrinking head count due to lay-offs or closures.

Typically, exempt staff are not eligible for overtime compensation or compensatory time off for hours worked in excess of 40 per week, and exempt staff have greater flexibility for scheduling work, since they may need to work more than 40 hours per week to fulfill their position responsibilities. If a group is experiencing heavy work load, it may be advisable to grant a period of reduced work following (or preceding) the event.¹

There are common methods to encourage staff to work longer hours, such as merit bonuses upon timely completion of a project, on-call allowances, spot awards, and of course higher pay for those individuals that have gone above and beyond the call of duty.

You could switch your people to a results based approach and give raises/bonuses based on timely achievement of duties and tasks. This requires that one stop focusing on the hours worked, and instead focus on successful completion on time and on budget; allowing the employee to work as required to completion. Be sure to reward those individuals that successfully complete tasks as directed — even with a word of thanks!

Empower your staff; let your group set their own schedule for “business” coverage. I’ve found that workers feel more in control if I explain the business rules behind the requirement (for example 8am-6pm) and let the staff stagger their own schedules. You’ll certainly hear less complaints about having to come in early, or work late — since they have to answer to themselves rather than you.

Switch your employees to hourly. The world may be going this direction for IT anyway, with increasing lawsuits from overworked staff. Switching to hourly pay serves at least two purposes; people who work longer hours get rewarded. This also forces you, as the manager responsible for your budget, to plan ahead and give appropriate time off to compensate employees for their “extra work”. Of course, if improperly managed, this could result in lost man-hours, so be careful.

See “Overwork: men, work hours, salary vs. hourly, trends (2008)” for some basic stats around hourly vs. salary.

Here’s some support for converting IT employees to hourly/Hourly wages for IT Workers:
US DOL letter on IT Worker Exemptions (PDF)

Enrich your employee’s lives! I hate to use the example, but a caged animal will go insane if its not given something to entertain it. An enrichment program can go a long way toward helping an employee feel fulfilled and will contribute toward their psychological well being. The enrichment program should be, of course, beneficial to both the employee and the company. From brown-bag training sessions, time to learn a new scripting language via execution of a tool or simple automation, mentally challenging gifts, fun team building exercises (corny, I know), freedom to write (and retain ownership of) white papers and open source programs, and so on.

For examples of enrichment programs in action, see:
Answer.com’s definition
Google “20-percent time”

You’ve been there… and I’m sure you’ll agree; working late hours on an issue, stressful deadlines and users/managers breathing down your neck to get something done well into the wee hours of the morn’ is both physically and mentally draining. We, as managers, with our own deadlines and deliverables, sometimes forget how hard these people are working for us (yes, even the 40hr/week people!)

Folks that generally take pride in their accomplishments, have tasks that are particularly interesting, have a stimulating environment, lead a very good work/life balance and are paid well will normally work the extra hours without complaint.

Good luck!

What do you think?

¹: This is almost directly lifted as “standard terminology” found in many places, and not attributable to one single source.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 7th, 2009 at 2:50 pm and is filed under IT Management, Articles, Q&A.