Yes, Roger, You Do Have A Choice!

Our story begins with my good friend, Roger.
Well, his real name isn’t Roger but I wish to respect his privacy.

Roger works as a data analyst at a big firm in California. One that you all know. He has been working there since 2012.
Roger’s job requires him to work from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm, 5 days a week. While he won’t admit it, he actually stays at work until 7–8 pm every night.
In case you were wondering, he doesn’t get paid for working over-time.
Every time I question him about it he comes up with different answers.

“I had to finish a project”

“They expect me to stay”

“It is not usually like that”

We talked about this issue last week. I told Roger his answers sound like excuses and he aggressively replied: “I don’t have a choice, okay?”.
Lately, I find myself becoming a friend he doesn’t wish to talk to because he gets upset almost every time we talk. I know I ask difficult questions, but I do it because I care about him very much. We’ve been friends for as long as I can remember myself.

The perception of choices

“We are our choices.”
~Jean-Paul Sartre