Heroism and Guilt
Overtime comes from a combination of heroism and guilt. A promise to deliver can create guilt.
Let me tell you a story about undeserved hero status. Once I spent a whole night at the office in order to fix a bug. Before I went home at 4 a.m., I sent an email to the project leader, explaining that the bug was fixed. The next day, the very same project leader fired off emails to the whole division, including all the vice presidents in the company. I was given a hero’s reception—not for fixing the bug but for the devotion of being at the office in the middle of the night.
Let’s make this clear from the beginning: working overtime ...
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