Gfyuki

I have started a new job about 6 months ago.

In my performance review, a couple months ago, We were both discussing my own performance, but also what I liked and disliked in the company itself. When the discussion turned towards the hours (it's 40 hours a week, but every employee decides when they come in to do them, as long as they are in the office between 10am and 4pm), the manager mentioned, almost off-handedly, that I shouldn't refrain from doing slightly more than that, for example if I am deep in coding, I shouldn't leave just because it's the time when it would disrupt my "flow" considerably.

I just had my second performance review, and the same thing came into the discussion, but this time it felt less like a casual offhand comment, and more like a demand.

He started by saying that he noticed I was a early worker (I usually do 7h30am to 4pm, taking a 30min lunch break), but he reiterated that I shouldn't "feel the need" to leave at 4 every day. Then he mentioned that some other coworker (senior) usually put in more than 40 hours, and that I could follow his example. My manager also mentioned that he was also on a 40h contract, but usually put in closer to 60h a week, and that he "doesn't mind" if anyone else does that.

It felt like he didn't want to outright force me to, but wanted to strongly recommend I start doing more hours.

There is literally no overtime policy in place. This is not about getting 1.5x pay during extra hours, right now extra hours are not counted anywhere, and we are not paid any compensation whatsoever for doing any. My total yearly salary would be the same, whether I put in 40 hours or 50 hours every week.

I also want to mention that I have done overtime (no pay) a couple times in the past, near important releases or to finish something I was working on. I only did it of my own will, because I wanted to. Now I'm wondering if I am being "forced" to do them.

So my question is:

Are they allowed to force me to do overtime at no extra pay?

If not, are they allowed to strongly suggest it with possibility of "unrelated" termination, or bad performance reviews if I refuse (which is essentially the same as forcing me from my point of view)

And, if not, then should I do it anyway just to "fit in" or make a good impression? I would much prefer to only put in the 40h I signed up for, but if it is an standard industry practice, then I can deal with it.

By the way, this is in Canada.

What your manager says is nonsense.

What he apparently wants is "bums on seats". A nice quote from some top manager at Microsoft: "You can make people stay in the office 80 hours a week. You can't make them work more than 40 hours a week". Working more than 40 hours a week decreases productivity, and not productivity per hour, but productivity per week. That's it from the company's point of view, it's nonsense. But for you, it is destructive. It destroys your health. It destroys your family life, or your chances of getting one.

So your answer to any demand working more than 40 hours a week, and unpaid at that, should be a very strong "No". You can give the reasoning I gave here.

Are they allowed to force me to do overtime at no extra pay?

This really depends on your local laws, your employment contract, and your status as an employee, none of which can really be determined here. Your best bet, should you really want an answer for this, is to consult a lawyer.

What is more concerning is that your employer appears to have no concern for work/life balance, which is essential for your well-being, your mental health, and your long-term employment.

In the software development industry, overtime is often part of the business, but is usually paid, at least in terms of compensatory time if not directly added to your paycheck. It is also not a regular occurrence.

Your manager may put in a 60-hour week, but that's because he has managerial responsibilities, and is probably getting paid such that overtime for him makes sense. To suggest that you do the same is ridiculous.

Whatever you need to do in the short term to fit in is up to you, but medium to longer term, I would explore new employment, because this will only get worse.

I would set up a meeting with your manager to discuss this. I would be point blank:

Boss, I am working and meeting all the demands expected. I complete all the assigned tickets/tasks on time and in completion. I am not clear on what you mean that I should work more than 40 hours. I am meeting expectations and do not believe I need to do more than 40 hours to do the tasks. Is there more expected of me?

If he cannot give a solid explanation on what he is expecting from you and keeps talking in suggestive tones, then you should consider quitting or continue to do what you're doing and continue to explain that you are meeting expectations and need further clarification on what they're expecting of you.

And, if not, then should I do it anyway just to "fit in" or make a good impression? I would much prefer to only put in the 40h I signed up for, but if it is an standard industry practice, then I can deal with it.

It's like in that movie Office Space with the pieces of flair topic. The manager explains in the movie a co-worker goes above the demand of minimum pieces of flair, but give no specific on what is expected of the main character who did the bare minimum that was set (I believe it was set at 13 minimum and she did that). If you cannot get a clear expectation then how do you know you're "pleasing" the manager? I would set clear expectations and if it cannot be adequately explained then you should ignore it.

Canada is a big place, your province and city matter a lot. Since your overall employment situation most likely vastly exceeds the minimums required by law it is unlikely they are actually violating any labor regulation.

Culturally, in private sector, in software, definitely someone who always locks their workstation stands up and hits the door at 3:59:59 regardless of what's going on will be perceived as un-engaged, just here for the paycheck, etc etc. Especially if you're not, say, catching an extremely infrequent bus or something.
That's just how some people will feel and you can't really change other people's feelings.

Yes it is normal in Canada for full-time developers to be salaried staff with no OT compensation or (official) time in lieu.

No it is not normal in most Canadian markets for successful employers of software developers to still be judging people based on 'time spent in seat' instead of 'useful work output' in 2019.

They cannot force you to do anything. You are employed at will and can resign at any time. Likewise they can lay you off at any time. (If they attempted to terminate for cause without a clear policy, find a decent lawyer and that would be a nice payday for you in most provinces.)

If you signed a contract that says otherwise that doesn't also clearly define terms about your hours and so-forth, there are lots of answers on this site about that.

I'm going to take up a contrary position to the other answers and agree with management here.

It's slightly unclear from your question if you're hourly or salaried. If you're hourly, it's definitely illegal for them to ask you to work overtime without extra pay.

If you're salaried, though, you're paid to do the job, not to work a specific number of hours a week. That being said, this is not unpaid overtime - you're being paid the salary you agreed to when you took the job.

Your question makes it sound like you think that you're somehow doing them a favor by occasionally working more than 40 hours to meet deadlines and do releases. You're not - you're doing the job that they're already paying you to do.

With that said, I think that you're missing their point about the overtime. It doesn't sound like they're ordering you to start working 60 hours a week or something. I suspect that their point is that if you immediately head for the door the second the clock hits 4:00, it creates the perception that you're just doing the absolute minimum expected of you.

I actually agree with them about not interrupting yourself at a bad stopping point just because it's 4:00. You don't say in your question if you ever do that, but if you do, I'd encourage you to reconsider because it's definitely hurting your productivity. Even if you're not doing that, the fact that it looks like that's what you're doing is still a problem.