Gen Z worker was told to attend client meeting after work hours. Here’s how he outwitted his manager: ‘You are not understanding…'

Gen Z is known for standing up for themselves at work and for establishing boundaries with management and not letting their lives be dictated by work. Career coach Simon Ingari shared a wonderful anecdote on X about how a Gen Z employee outsmarted a boss who asked them to attend a client call after work hours. The employee then requested to reschedule the meeting to a later time but was met with deaf ears. Here’s how he shut down the unfair request.

The situation began when the manager informed the employee that a client call had been arranged for 7 PM the following day. Since the client was located in another time zone, the manager expected the employee to participate outside normal working hours. Rather than immediately objecting, the employee asked whether attendance was compulsory.

After being told that participation was required, the employee offered a practical solution. They were willing to adjust their schedule and work later in the day to accommodate the client. However, the manager rejected the suggestion and insisted that the employee still report for work at 8 AM as usual.


The employee then pointed out that working an evening meeting would effectively extend the workday beyond the contracted schedule. Since the position involved a 40-hour working week, the employee maintained that those were the hours they were employed and compensated to complete.


The manager then tried to argue that refusal to attend the meeting could hamper the employee’s career. The employee then proposed to take equivalent time off later in the week to compensate for extra hours.

Then the manager chided him for watching the clock and said that in this company, employees are expected to work hard if necessary and at all times if needed.

The employee had had enough and said, "Again, I work for the hours I’m paid for, and since overtime is not an option, I’ll go ahead and adjust my hours this week to accommodate the shift in the schedule. Just because that is the way you do things does not mean that is how I’m required to do things as well.”

The manager was left without words.