An Australian jobseeker has sparked debate after revealing a question they were asked during a job interview that many labelled a ‘massive red flag’.

The candidate said they were blindsided when the interviewer directly asked whether they were ‘willing to work extra uncompensated hours’.

‘I said I’m willing to within reason and if I feel like my salary is justified,’ the Redditor wrote.

‘They were like, “hmm, okay”. I felt like I was smashing the interview up until that point, but the atmosphere changed after I answered.’

The candidate added that the role was advertised with a salary range between $100,000 and $120,000.

The post quickly went viral, with hundreds of Australians weighing in on what they saw as a warning sign.

‘Are you willing to waste our time interviewing me when you raise red flags like that?’ one person joked.

‘I’ve walked out mid-interview on something similar,’ said another.

‘All he wanted to know was how many unpaid hours I’d do and whether I had kids or hobbies outside of work. I just stood up and left.’

Recruiters also weighed in.

‘Not normal at all. I work with a lot of hiring managers and try to coach them on fair questions – and then they go ask something like this. Insane,’ one weighed in.

Others saw the question as part of a broader issue in Australian workplaces, where ‘putting in extra’ is often an unspoken expectation.

‘I assume most corporate roles expect some unpaid overtime,’ one user said.

‘But if they’re openly asking about it in the interview, that’s a bad sign – it means they plan to rely on it.’

Workplace experts say that while overtime is common across many industries, expecting employees to regularly work beyond their contracted hours without pay can signal poor boundaries and burnout risk.

In Australia, salaried workers often face blurred lines between flexibility and exploitation.

While award or enterprise agreement employees are typically compensated for overtime, higher-salaried professionals often absorb additional hours – whether to meet deadlines, manage teams, or signal commitment.

But as one Reddit user pointed out, there’s a difference between occasionally staying late and being expected to.

‘If they said something like “once a quarter we all pitch in for a few hours,” that’s fine. But if it’s a daily thing – that’s under-resourcing.’

Others said they’d been in jobs where ‘occasional’ overtime quickly became every weekend.

‘They owned my weekends. And if you didn’t do it, you were labelled “not a team player”,’ one user recalled.

Many commenters encouraged jobseekers to push back when faced with similar questions.

‘Ask why extra uncompensated hours are necessary. Is the business under-resourced or unable to prioritise? Flip it back on them,’ a woman suggested.

Another offered up a diplomatic response.

‘Say you’re willing to work extra hours on occasion if absolutely necessary. While you wouldn’t expect additional pay, say you’d expect time in lieu when appropriate.’

The backlash also reflects a growing shift in Australian work culture.

Younger professionals, especially in corporate and tech sectors, are increasingly rejecting the ‘always on’ mentality that dominated past decades.

The rise of flexible work, hybrid schedules, and mental health awareness has made workers vocal about protecting their time – and likely to call out toxic expectations in interviews.