There's two parts here, one's a rant on GTJD, and the other is about the article itself.

1) Years ago I used GTJD in reference to taking on extra projects that interested me. I worked on helpdesk but dipped into development to identify bugs, later to take over abandoned projects, finally leading to SQL Server... 6 years later here I am!

One day I crossed the path of a manager for whom GTJD was their life motto; they even did presentations on it! But it only applied to employees (I'd like to remind any managers right now they are also employees), and was seen as a solution to the knowledge drain problem. Key staff have been quitting for years and left nothing behind? Well SQL Server Cody should be able to take over general ledger reconciliations for our customers; "I don't know how because it requires specialist accounting knowledge" was not an acceptable response; just GTJD! Things rapidly deteriorated from there.

Now I avoid using that phrase and instead talk about what's important to me. I'm 34yo, I've been from building PCs to corporate sales to help desk to programming and now I've settled on SQL Sever. I know right from wrong, don't need to be micromanaged, and if I'm hired and left to self direct then I have an excellent track record of providing more value than they can imagine. End of story 😛

2) But GTJD in this article's context means something different: it's about an employee deciding to work back late for free because they had overrun an estimate and feared the repercussions.

I'm strictly against this. For one, estimate has a pretty definitive meaning and I'd suggest the people involved look it up; nobody in their right mind should expect and enforce an estimate to match reality, let alone from an employee. A contractor may have to meet a quotation but that is a far cry from an estimate, with significant wiggle room, limitations, and penalties.

Does the project have an important deadline? Then great, work back and be paid for it or get time in lieu.

What's more telling about the whole situation is that this employee is primarily fear-motivated. That's going to generate some excellent professional work results, dedication and longevity in the company.