More hourly people need to realize this, that what seems as a marginal benefit of time and a half pay from constant overtime hours eventually just gets priced in as lower base wages. I think a source is thinking too much about gross pay vs effective hourly compensation. It doesn't "feel right" to switch jobs and take an effective pay cut, even if your effective hourly compensation in terms of benefits and wages is higher.

Oh very traditional in heavy engineering, I know one industrial relations expert who told me, when a big turbine was due for delivery suddenly the tools and screwdrivers would get suddenly heavy and every one got very tired.

Until of course the brown envelopes came out then as he said even the tea boy got a grand - this is mid 70's btw.

And you move into higher tax brackets so take home a smaller fraction.

I'm starting to see it as a loss, the additional time I may put in as overtime is subtracted from time I have for side projects and learning that is far more important to my career (as well as metal / physical health).

When overtime starts getting budgeted the employer doesn't care so much. Usually they've done the math on if hiring people (with benefits, etc) is better than spreading the hours out as overtime.