Enough is enough. After 10 years in IT, techie finally said 'no more weekend work'. Now, in a dilemma

A software engineer recently took to the subreddit Developers India to share how, after spending ten years in the IT industry, he finally learned to stand up for himself and reclaim his work-life balance. His post, which has since gained wide attention, reflected the growing frustration many tech professionals feel under mounting pressure from demanding clients and managers.

He explained that he works for a large multinational consulting firm, handling projects for a prestigious client. Over the past few months, the client had begun assigning tasks that were far beyond reasonable expectations. While his manager appeared to sympathize with the team, in reality, they continued to push them into working late hours and weekends. The developer shared that most of his colleagues were equally exasperated but too afraid to confront management. Instead, they vented privately about the unfair workload.

Reaching his limit, the developer finally decided to speak up. He told his manager that the situation was unjust and that just because others were willing to overwork did not mean he had to follow suit. He also pointed out that the additional hours were unpaid and that none of the work qualified as urgent or production-critical. He made it clear that he would only put in extra effort for genuinely critical issues that affected large-scale operations. His assertiveness reportedly left the manager speechless.

With a decade of experience behind him, the engineer added that most of the clients he had worked with, including the current one, were based in India. Tired of the toxic cycle of overwork, he eventually requested to be released from the project, knowing full well that finding replacements would be difficult since the client had previously rejected more than a hundred candidates before finalizing a handful for the team.

Community Reactions

Fellow Redditors praised his decision, calling it a long-overdue act of self-respect. One user advised that with ten years of experience, finding another job would not be difficult, and no one should tolerate such exploitation. Another suggested maintaining boundaries by working only during paid hours and requesting proper overtime pay—double or quadruple the normal rate—if the company expected extended work.

The post struck a chord with many professionals, highlighting the importance of asserting one’s limits and valuing personal well-being over endless corporate demands.