What should I do about unpaid work hours outside my shift?

Document everything - times, dates, what you did - and bring it to your manager or HR in writing, because unpaid work is illegal in most places and you deserve compensation. If they don't respond or push back, check your local labor laws and consider filing a complaint with your labor board or talking to an employment lawyer.

The quickest way to stop this is to stop doing it yourself - set a hard boundary on when you clock out and stick to it, because once you prove you'll work unpaid, it becomes the expectation.

I get that it feels risky to just stop, especially if your workplace has that culture where people stay late without complaint. But here's the thing: if you're routinely working off the clock, your employer has already normalized stealing your time. The moment you push back is actually when they'll start paying attention. Some managers genuinely don't track this stuff because they assume everyone's honestly reporting hours. Others know exactly what's happening and are banking on you not making a fuss. Either way, you staying silent doesn't fix it - it just lets them think it's fine.

Start by adjusting what you actually log. If you're working until 5:30 but clocking out at 5, begin clocking out at 5:30. If your boss questions it, that's your opening to say you're logging your actual hours now. You could also try the casual mention approach first - "Hey, I've been realizing I'm staying late most days and wanted to make sure that's getting tracked" - and see if they fix the timekeeping system or give you the green light to log it. If they push back or it doesn't change, then yeah, you'll want to document what's happening and escalate it properly.