Boss cuts overtime, then begs employee to stay when chaos erupts

For years, a developer at a global financial services company was the unsung hero holding everything together. Known online as u/runnerdan, he was the sole architect of hundreds of essential tools and scripts that kept the business running.

That monumental task required more than a standard 40-hour week. "At my peak, I probably had around 300 apps and/or scripts in production," he explained on Reddit. "Due to the number of asks from leadership and to keep the lights on, I usually booked anywhere from 4 to 10 hours of overtime per week."

His extra hours weren't for show; they were the invisible foundation of the company's daily operations. Then, a new boss arrived and decided to change things.

A boos speaks with his staffCanva

The new manager implemented a strict, company-wide policy with no wiggle room: "You will ONLY be allowed 8 hours per day and not a moment more. No exceptions." As a contractor with no power to negotiate, u/runnerdan simply complied.

Just days later, the inevitable happened. A critical system failure brought operations to a grinding halt. The developer was in the middle of a frantic diagnostic session, with both his new boss and her own boss watching over his shoulder, when the clock on his computer ticked over to 4:30 PM.

He stopped typing, locked his computer, and stood up.

"Well, it's 4:30. That's my 8 hours. I'll see you tomorrow," he announced to his stunned, panicked, and furious bosses. Then he walked out the door.

An empty cubicleCanva

The Aftermath

The consequences were immediate and severe. The developer’s departure triggered a shutdown of the company's entire overnight backup system. A global financial institution had zero data redundancy for the night. If anything went wrong, they were exposed.

The next morning, the developer arrived at 7:56 AM to find his boss's boss waiting for him. He was immediately pulled into an office where the policy was unceremoniously reversed. "Moving forward, I'll manage your timesheet and you can take as many hours as you need," the manager told him.

A weekly timesheetCanva

The story resonated deeply with IT professionals on Reddit, who shared their own experiences of being undervalued. User u/pdx_mom summed up the precarious nature of many companies: "It is truly amazing how some things are just held up by spit and glue though. Like... not one other person knew how to do anything."

Another, u/Dumbname25644, added that the situation is far too common: "This is standard for IT... Not one of the other guys could deal with 80% of what I do day to day."

A few months later, the developer left the company for good. The final laugh, however, came when the entire building was laid off, with the company retaining only two of the original 200 employees—one of whom was the replacement he had personally hired and trained.

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This article originally appeared earlier this year.