The formula
Cost of unpaid overtime = base hourly rate × unpaid hours
where base hourly rate = annual salary ÷ (standard weekly hours × 52)
Every hour past your standard week is work performed at your professional rate and billed at $0. The cost isn't hypothetical — it's the market value of labor you're already delivering.
What it costs at common salary levels
Assuming a 40-hour standard week, here's the annual value of unpaid overtime at different real workloads:
| Salary | Base rate | +5 hrs/week | +10 hrs/week |
|---|---|---|---|
| $80,000 | $38/hr | $10,000/yr | $20,000/yr |
| $100,000 | $48/hr | $12,500/yr | $25,000/yr |
| $120,000 | $58/hr | $15,000/yr | $30,000/yr |
| $150,000 | $72/hr | $18,750/yr | $37,500/yr |
| $200,000 | $96/hr | $25,000/yr | $50,000/yr |
Prefer to plug in your own numbers? Use the free unpaid overtime calculator on our home page.
The second cost: salary erosion
Unpaid overtime doesn't just fail to pay — it devalues every hour you do get paid for. Work 46 real hours on a $150,000/40-hour salary and your true hourly wage falls from $72 to $63 — a 13% cut. Your effective salary for a standard year of your time drops to about $131,190. A raise that arrives alongside more hours can leave you earning less per hour than before it.
Why estimates always lowball it
Ask anyone how much they work and they'll quote their intended schedule. The real number hides in the 20-minute early starts, the "quick" 6:30 pm calls, the Sunday inbox sweep. Individually invisible; collectively an hour-plus a day. The only honest answer comes from a log.
How to track your personal cost with WorkWize
WorkWize (free on iPhone) computes your cost of unpaid hours automatically from your logged time:
- Set your salary and standard week once. That fixes your base rate.
- Log your real workdays. Start, end, lunch — about 10 seconds a day.
- Read your cost, live. The home screen shows Cost of Unpaid Hours per day (e.g. $83/day); the Weekly Summary shows the weekly figure and a running year-to-date total; Salary Insights shows the annual salary value lost.
- Watch the number change your behavior. "It's just an hour" hits differently when it's labeled $72. That's the point.
What to do with your number
Once you know your annual figure, you have options a vague feeling never gave you: bring it to a comp review, weigh it against a competing offer, use it to justify saying no to scope creep, or start a structured workload conversation. If the number needs to shrink, our guide on stopping unpaid overtime covers the boundary tactics that actually work.
Track it automatically with WorkWize
The free unpaid overtime tracker for salaried professionals. Log your day in 10 seconds — see your true hourly pay and the cost of every unpaid hour.
