Here is what I found worked to get me to be willing to work extra, and it has worked for many of the my employees when I went to management, though of course pe

Here is what I found worked to get me to be willing to work extra, and it has worked for many of the my employees when I went to management, though of course people vary: 1. An interesting project so the work wasn't drudgery (knowing why it mattered to the company also helped a lot). 2. Incentives. This could be as general as stock options/employee stock purchase so that at least key employees (people able to indvidually affect the overall welfare of the company) are strongly motivated to see it succeed. Promises of bonuses tied to performance, or promotions down the line help, or comp time all help. 3. Food. 4. The boss should be there. At my last company, my boss was there most of the time if he asked us to work late. When I became a manager, I was almost always there if I asked my people to work late. It was a small company, the CEO was occassionally the one bringing in the take-out if several of us were asked to work long hours.