The Worst Interview Question

There are some things I like about interviews. They're an excuse to talk about yourself, they are good practice to learn active listening skills, and they challenge me to see how much I can find in common with someone in a really short period of time.

But there is one question that I'm not sure why people keep asking. Not only is it a terrible question, but it is not even being called out for being awful. It is the hallmark of all traditional employer questions. For some reason, LinkedIn gurus and "woke" employers still ask it. (Seeing one such post on this platform is what motivated me to write this article.)

And it gives you no information whatsoever.

"Are you willing to come in early and leave late?"

Or "Are you willing to work overtime?" Or any other version of this terrible question.

Seriously, employers, why do you ask it?

First, every employee is going to say they will.

So how are you weeding out the crowd? How do you differentiate a lying interviewee from a nervous one? Would you penalize a sincere "Sometimes, if it's really important and I'm paid well" but hire the charismatic actor who says "Of course, I love to work!" ?

Look. I love my job. I've worked hundreds of hours of unpaid overtime, sometimes with no credit or clear personal payoff. And even I didn't predict this in my interview. If I was asked the question, I probably said some version of "Well, of course. I'm used to it. I just came from a law firm."

And hey, anything is better than a law firm.

Which brings me to my second point: You don't WANT to make people work overtime.

Do you really want to hire employees who say they are willing to give 80 hours a week to your company?

Because that often trades off against employees who are happy. Healthy. Learn languages. Play music. Improve their writing skills on blogs and with fanfiction. Socialize and network.

Science shows that working more than forty hours a week is associated with a host of serious health issues. After 50 hours a week, productivity falls sharply and it's not even worth it to the employer.

WHO just added burnout to its International Classification of Diseases.

My day jobs have often benefited from the writing, language, and science skills I gained in my free time. Having time to compose music and paint keeps my mind sharp and relaxes me, making me a more collaborative and efficient worker.

You don't want to hire humans to be robots. Hire robots to be robots.

And finally, even if you do want people working overtime for some reason, do the capitalist thing and pay them enough for it.

I've said this before: if I were demanded to work overtime, I wouldn't. Remember back when you were planning to clean your room, but then your mom told you to do it, so you didn't?

That's what happens when you make your employees work long hours for no reward. They watch the clock. They play on their phones at work. They dislike you. Most of my friends right now are in this situation.

Make your employees want to work overtime. Don't pressure them into it.

Here are three ways to earn that overtime:

1. Pay them with money. Make sure you're using the same rules for everyone or you're sure to have disgruntled workers. Pay them fairly.
2. Treat them well and reward them with flexibility to recover during easier weeks. Two weeks ago, I got really sick on Thursday and was feeling awful. My boss said not to do a project and go home early because she noticed I wasn't feeling well. I did my best to do it anyway because I didn't want to hold the team up, I finished half of it, and then I just took off the rest of Friday. Whenever I'm sick or want a day off, I can take it, no questions asked. I hold myself to high standards of productivity, which is always better than when that pressure is external.
3. Hire people who believe in your mission and who will treat the project as personal. Sometimes I've had a bad work week with awful office politics and I actually don't want to do anyone the favor. But then I remember we have an important mission and we are doing important work and me doing a good job might actually change the world. Or at least make our reports better, and say the right things, and have more of an impact. So I do it anyway.

If you want to ask people a cliched interview question, ask them why they want to work for you.

And read this article about Switzerland's system, if you have time. It is typical for employees to work a certain percentage of the time (like 80% and be paid 80%) and they have far more leave and vacation time.

That should be the norm.

We should stop setting a different norm from the first interview.

What do you think? Do you ask this question? Have you been asked this question? Am I wrong?

Comment below!

Isvari is an author, columnist, singer, and ex-physicist, who has a day job as a lawyer for the National Commission on Service.

Her novel, The Eyes of Mikra, is about a spy with amnesia who's figured everything out about the war she's fighting, but nothing about who she really is. Available, like everything else in the world, on Amazon.

If you want to be featured on her new advice series, message her with #AskIsvari!