I suspect many task deadlines are designed to force engineers to work for free
>>The engineer's boss, an engineering manager, asks him how long a new task will take to complete. Sometimes the engineer has not done this particular thing before, so he responds honestly that he has no idea how long it will take. His boss will not accept that answer. He asks again. So, the engineer makes a wild guess and his boss responds with, "That's too long." Even if the engineer knows how long a task will take to complete and gives a realistic estimate, his boss often responds with, "That's too long. You have until Friday." When the engineer asks how long his boss has known about the task, the boss says he has known for a month. When the engineer asks why he didn't tell him a month ago, the boss just looks at the engineer like he doesn't understand the question.<p>If this describes your workplace, please find a better managed workplace if you can. They are out there<p>The correct way to do things here would be to:<p>1. Do a probe project to evaluate complexity and/or look at similar projects<p>2. Trade time (deadlines) for scope and resources. Yes, we can deliver in a month, but only if we cut scope and get 2 more QA folks, etc.<p>EDIT 2a: You can also negotiate to trade time for quality and/or take on technical debt knowing it reduces future velocity.<p>3. If neither of the above happen, you should trade absurdity for more salary/growth. I've seen this at places such as hedge funds and consultancies and they compensate and "pay" for it with better comp and growth.