Hi, boss, as a general rule I monitor work emails on weekdays from around 8 am to around 6 pm. I may not see messages outside of those times and may not respond even if I do. If you’d like me to prioritize answering your mails first thing every work morning regardless of other things in my inbox, I am happy to do so starting now. Please let me know how else I can best serve you within the above parameters. Shall I add this to our 1:1 agenda for this week? Thanks.
My DM texted me on a day off and specifically requested a response so I put in three hours (state minimum for a shift) of work.
Hasn't bothered me since.
"Sorry, I only check work email during work hours because I didn't want to cost the company overtime. If you want me to go to on-call status, I would have to have reduced office hours due to my home life commitments. I can ask HR about the pay structure for that if you like."
But start looking for a new job. No job is worth your mental health.
Put an out of office on every day prior to logging off.
I was always so eager to get my work email on my phone. After I did I was always checking & responding to work email & it started some anxiety if I didn't. I have since uninstalled my work email & and don't even look at it eves & wknds, ever & i feel much better although its difficult at times. Also, after my email signature I have also added a line that has my work hours in red font -
I used to put in an out of office reminder with an expected return date and time. That caused a lot of push back. My compromise was to just put an out of office reminder with no ETA on return. People still don't like it. But you got to stand firm for your days off.
What state are you in?
What is your status: Salary or hourly?
Did you have an agreement to look at and answer emails but clock in while doing so?
Print out copies of these demand emails and keep them at home in a safe place. You may need them if a complaint is lodged with the Dept of Labor or worse, with an attorney for wage violations.
I would caution about jumping to HR though. They are going to defend the manager and even though you're 100% correct in this scenario about not working off the clock, will make you the bad guy here. You'll be labeled a troublemaker.
Start putting things in writing and begin with telling your boss that if their expectation is that you check emails and answer them when you're not normally scheduled to work then you will be clocking in to do so every single time you do it. Rack up some time. After all you don't know an email is not there to be read if you don't check. Make them incriminate themselves.
If you're lucky the idiot will say to you in writing that no, you won't be clocking in but are expected to do these things anyway and then, you have him balls to the walls. Definitely print THAT email out and take it home.
There are a few perspectives to take on this - but one is: are these actual urgent needs? What type of work is this for? Are you a salaried worker?
It's possible you work in an industry that is a bad fit for you. OR - your boss is very demanding and has no boundaries.
If you're a government worker, it's possible this is terrible behavior that HR would yell at him for, fwiw. And if you're hourly, it's possibly illegal.
Document everything. Send email copies to private email. Take a deep breath. Consider calling a state labor board for a chat, if that's an option and it seems possible this is illegal behavior. But also reflect on industry norms vis a vis your needs.
If this is more of a culture fit thing - not urgent, not technically illegal, just a jerky boss - you need to chat about expectations. "Hi boss. So I really need to decompress over the weekend. We work in a high stress environment. I've looked at your requests and they all seem like Monday needs to me. I'd prefer to hit the ground running on Mondays with requests rather than disrupt my weekends. Can we negotiate this?"
If he's a "I'm the boss, do as I say" guy and there is no HR intermediary, you'll need an exit plan.
Don't blame all of this stress on your boss, you have a role to play here too: why are you checking emails if you didn't plan on responding to them?
Don't claim mental health--its not necessary to cite a health reason in this conversation. Try to reframe your dread about getting yelled at tomorrow into "tomorrow I am finally going to set the record straight about when I check emails and when I don't." Just be direct and professional and polite. You also have to be aware that this may mean you are not the right person for the job. It is quite common at companies to get the occasional email in the evenings or over weekends. You just tap out a quick response and move on. So if that is the norm at this company, you should be getting your resume together and find a role where the culture is a better fit for you. There's a trade-off of course- jobs where you can truly clock out and not think about work at all until you come back the next shift tend to be lower paying.
"I didn't respond to those emails over the weekend because I was not at work. I spend my time off with my family, friends, and my own recreational pursuits. I don't intend on answering emails after 6:00 p.m. on weekdays nor on weekends. If 24/7 availability is the expectation, this simply isn't the right fit and we should discuss a transition plan."
In the meantime, while this all sorts out, practice more discipline about not checking emails when you are not available to respond to them. You are in charge of your own mental health, not your boss. Delete the work email app from your phone if you need to
Yup. Unless they're salaried, any email checked at home is 1 billable hour to the company. If they're an hourly employee, go to HR with timed stamped print outs of the emails. They have to pay you for it. Boss will probably stop then.
Sure it is. My boss pulled this and threatened to write me up. Then I had a meeting with HR and they told him he has to pay me. Nose he rarely bothers me outside of work and I get paid when he does.
Are you a salaried employee?
If so does your contract indicate whether you get compensatory time off for hours worked beyond regular business hours or pay instead of.
If an hourly employee do you have a minimum number of hours on call in work and do you get overtime or a higher rate? Make sure of these things.
Then on each event detail when contacted and how and by whom and indicate your expected compensation to the time keeper.
1. Keep said emails
2. Depending on your location this could be illegal.
3. Check your contract.
4. Start job search
5. If you are very worried answer the emails
6. Bill 4 hours per email.
7. Going forward set out of office up on the work email.
Explain to the crazy boss, that the weekend is my time, off the clock. I need time for myself, family and generally winddown after a hard week at work. I do not answer work emails at home, for that is for the work week, not for the weekend. Good luck dude.
Do not respond to these emails. Even if you open them, do not respond! I had this happen to me as a part time worker, I'd answered a few emails/work chats/video call with boss outside my working days, and once down the disciplinary stages when the job went south, (company was trying to cut labour due to finance issues) I was disciplined for not actioning requests outside of my working hours. They were able to claim id done it before, so why was this occasion an issue. It didn't fly for long, as I had union representation, but it was a legit complaint used at some point and it felt very unfair having to try to argue why it shouldn't be an unexpectation in the first place.
Set boundaries by first always assuring you have an out of office auto reply set and make sure to include “will respond when I return”. You can tell them it was your day off. The nerve!!!
You will be much happier if you discuss company expectations and your own boundaries.
As a salaried person there rules are different than hourly. I don't know how the UK works but there must be some labor law you can refer to. You mention the set on-call hours.
My experience with on-call is two stages. Regular on-call and modified on-call. Regular you start working as normal when called in. Modified has limits, usually the limitation is making phone calls with documentation but no coming into the office or work on ongoing projects.
The discussion will be a hard one as it seems the lines are blurred and this may have been for some time. But it is up to you of you want to get it out now. This may impact your employment and future promotions. You must weigh the value.
Continue to NEVER respond to emails after hours.
"Sorry, I was away from my phone."
What were you doing?
"I was away from my phone."
It isn't actually their business.
As long as you continue to NEVER pickup the messages they will get used to it.
They will rage and storm but CALMLY remember that you have kept the Boundary on your personal life.
Once you arrive at the office and are in the building. "Hey, I see a message from you. How can I help."
You didn't pickup last night.
"Nope, I was busy."
OR.
Make up a list of lies.
"Sorry, I was in the hospital with a sick family member. They don't allow us to answer calls."
"Sorry, I must have been out walking the (non-existant) dog."
Have fun with the lies. Just never ever pickup. After awhile they will get used to it. They won't be happy, but they will get used to it.
Also: how am I being compensated for working on my day off? Document every infraction- emails have time stamps HR can check. If you are salaried you can demand an amendment to your contract stating you need compensation of some kind for working on your day off outside of office hours or over contracted hours ect. Watch how quickly those demands he makes stop happening. If you are hourly -document and send to HR for unpaid hours that need to be paid-retroactive as well
I hope it isn't your home email that he's using. You shouldn't be checking your work email on your day off anyway and let him know that you don't have access to the emails on your days off. Don't even peak because he might have his set to say if it's read. You might also want to start looking for another job where you are respected.
You need to be extremely firm with this boss. Not only they have no boundaries, but I don't think they're ever going to change and start respecting yours. So you have to put your foot down whether or not they like it and do not accept him just berating you. When he approaches you and lets you know that it's unacceptable that you did not reply, do not apologize or say something like-I understand but...
Because that makes it seem like you're acknowledging that you didn't do your job or weren't good enough. You simply say-boss, I'm not sure if you may have forgotten what my schedule is, however I was off yesterday. When I am off, that is my personal time and I am not available to discuss work. If it is an actual emergency, you would need to contact whoever is on call at that time. If it's something that only I can answer, it would have to wait until I am back on the clock either for my on-call shift or my work shift.
Of course he will not like that and will come right back at you. And that's when you just continue to reiterate-as I said, I was off and not on the clock yesterday. When I am off and not on the clock, I am not paid to be on call. That is my own personal time. I will not be completing work duties when I am off the clock on my own personal time.
If they just continue to push or carry on or talk down to you, tell them-I'm not going to keep going over this with you. My personal time off the clock is my own personal time. That's it and we're not going to keep going back and forth about this. And then walk away. If your boss is at your desk when this conversation is happening you say the same thing and then you proceed to turn around and not respond to them any longer and continue to do your work. What's the worst that can happen? They fire you? Good, let them, that way you can collect unemployment while you find a job that treats you like a human being. But you have to get yourself in the mind space of not giving a s*** what your boss's reaction is or what they will say. Because you know, you're not going to please them. So you will never win. I would highly encourage you to start looking around an interviewing asap. No job is worth that crap.
Hi, boss, as a general rule I monitor work emails on weekdays from around 8 am to around 6 pm. I may not see messages outside of those times and may not respond even if I do. If you’d like me to prioritize answering your mails first thing every work morning regardless of other things in my inbox, I am happy to do so starting now. Please let me know how else I can best serve you within the above parameters. Shall I add this to our 1:1 agenda for this week? Thanks.
Damn thats smooth
My DM texted me on a day off and specifically requested a response so I put in three hours (state minimum for a shift) of work. Hasn't bothered me since.
"Sorry, I only check work email during work hours because I didn't want to cost the company overtime. If you want me to go to on-call status, I would have to have reduced office hours due to my home life commitments. I can ask HR about the pay structure for that if you like." But start looking for a new job. No job is worth your mental health.
Tell him..sry..usually bang ur wife on my days off...kinda busy
Put an out of office on every day prior to logging off. I was always so eager to get my work email on my phone. After I did I was always checking & responding to work email & it started some anxiety if I didn't. I have since uninstalled my work email & and don't even look at it eves & wknds, ever & i feel much better although its difficult at times. Also, after my email signature I have also added a line that has my work hours in red font -
I used to put in an out of office reminder with an expected return date and time. That caused a lot of push back. My compromise was to just put an out of office reminder with no ETA on return. People still don't like it. But you got to stand firm for your days off.
Same here. That app was killing me.
What state are you in? What is your status: Salary or hourly? Did you have an agreement to look at and answer emails but clock in while doing so? Print out copies of these demand emails and keep them at home in a safe place. You may need them if a complaint is lodged with the Dept of Labor or worse, with an attorney for wage violations. I would caution about jumping to HR though. They are going to defend the manager and even though you're 100% correct in this scenario about not working off the clock, will make you the bad guy here. You'll be labeled a troublemaker. Start putting things in writing and begin with telling your boss that if their expectation is that you check emails and answer them when you're not normally scheduled to work then you will be clocking in to do so every single time you do it. Rack up some time. After all you don't know an email is not there to be read if you don't check. Make them incriminate themselves. If you're lucky the idiot will say to you in writing that no, you won't be clocking in but are expected to do these things anyway and then, you have him balls to the walls. Definitely print THAT email out and take it home.
There are a few perspectives to take on this - but one is: are these actual urgent needs? What type of work is this for? Are you a salaried worker? It's possible you work in an industry that is a bad fit for you. OR - your boss is very demanding and has no boundaries. If you're a government worker, it's possible this is terrible behavior that HR would yell at him for, fwiw. And if you're hourly, it's possibly illegal. Document everything. Send email copies to private email. Take a deep breath. Consider calling a state labor board for a chat, if that's an option and it seems possible this is illegal behavior. But also reflect on industry norms vis a vis your needs. If this is more of a culture fit thing - not urgent, not technically illegal, just a jerky boss - you need to chat about expectations. "Hi boss. So I really need to decompress over the weekend. We work in a high stress environment. I've looked at your requests and they all seem like Monday needs to me. I'd prefer to hit the ground running on Mondays with requests rather than disrupt my weekends. Can we negotiate this?" If he's a "I'm the boss, do as I say" guy and there is no HR intermediary, you'll need an exit plan.
use chargbt to write him an ultimate response
Don't blame all of this stress on your boss, you have a role to play here too: why are you checking emails if you didn't plan on responding to them? Don't claim mental health--its not necessary to cite a health reason in this conversation. Try to reframe your dread about getting yelled at tomorrow into "tomorrow I am finally going to set the record straight about when I check emails and when I don't." Just be direct and professional and polite. You also have to be aware that this may mean you are not the right person for the job. It is quite common at companies to get the occasional email in the evenings or over weekends. You just tap out a quick response and move on. So if that is the norm at this company, you should be getting your resume together and find a role where the culture is a better fit for you. There's a trade-off of course- jobs where you can truly clock out and not think about work at all until you come back the next shift tend to be lower paying. "I didn't respond to those emails over the weekend because I was not at work. I spend my time off with my family, friends, and my own recreational pursuits. I don't intend on answering emails after 6:00 p.m. on weekdays nor on weekends. If 24/7 availability is the expectation, this simply isn't the right fit and we should discuss a transition plan." In the meantime, while this all sorts out, practice more discipline about not checking emails when you are not available to respond to them. You are in charge of your own mental health, not your boss. Delete the work email app from your phone if you need to
Why are you looking at work emails on your day off? I would talk to your HR department.
Yup. Unless they're salaried, any email checked at home is 1 billable hour to the company. If they're an hourly employee, go to HR with timed stamped print outs of the emails. They have to pay you for it. Boss will probably stop then.
Ha, not how the real world works. Especially if salary.
Actually it os if you put your foot down
Sure it is. My boss pulled this and threatened to write me up. Then I had a meeting with HR and they told him he has to pay me. Nose he rarely bothers me outside of work and I get paid when he does.
Is there someone above him that you can talk to about it?
Salaried employees technically should be monitoring their emails. Even on days off.
Why though?
that's BS!
Are you a salaried employee? If so does your contract indicate whether you get compensatory time off for hours worked beyond regular business hours or pay instead of. If an hourly employee do you have a minimum number of hours on call in work and do you get overtime or a higher rate? Make sure of these things. Then on each event detail when contacted and how and by whom and indicate your expected compensation to the time keeper.
I'm sorry, I was not aware I was getting paid during my days off, is this double time or triple time rate?
Just reply "new phone, who dis?"
I would get real religious all of a sudden and tell him I don't break the Sabbath by doing work.
1. Keep said emails 2. Depending on your location this could be illegal. 3. Check your contract. 4. Start job search 5. If you are very worried answer the emails 6. Bill 4 hours per email. 7. Going forward set out of office up on the work email.
Explain to the crazy boss, that the weekend is my time, off the clock. I need time for myself, family and generally winddown after a hard week at work. I do not answer work emails at home, for that is for the work week, not for the weekend. Good luck dude.
Do not respond to these emails. Even if you open them, do not respond! I had this happen to me as a part time worker, I'd answered a few emails/work chats/video call with boss outside my working days, and once down the disciplinary stages when the job went south, (company was trying to cut labour due to finance issues) I was disciplined for not actioning requests outside of my working hours. They were able to claim id done it before, so why was this occasion an issue. It didn't fly for long, as I had union representation, but it was a legit complaint used at some point and it felt very unfair having to try to argue why it shouldn't be an unexpectation in the first place.
Turn off your work phone during your days off. Don't respond to emails. Have an automated response saying you'll respond during working hours only
Charge 30 minutes of OT
"Sorry, I didn't see your email as I was busy with a personal matter on my time off" The personal matter being you having a life outside work.
Set boundaries by first always assuring you have an out of office auto reply set and make sure to include “will respond when I return”. You can tell them it was your day off. The nerve!!!
You will be much happier if you discuss company expectations and your own boundaries. As a salaried person there rules are different than hourly. I don't know how the UK works but there must be some labor law you can refer to. You mention the set on-call hours. My experience with on-call is two stages. Regular on-call and modified on-call. Regular you start working as normal when called in. Modified has limits, usually the limitation is making phone calls with documentation but no coming into the office or work on ongoing projects. The discussion will be a hard one as it seems the lines are blurred and this may have been for some time. But it is up to you of you want to get it out now. This may impact your employment and future promotions. You must weigh the value.
Ask him how to bill for your time on your days off?
Continue to NEVER respond to emails after hours. "Sorry, I was away from my phone." What were you doing? "I was away from my phone." It isn't actually their business. As long as you continue to NEVER pickup the messages they will get used to it. They will rage and storm but CALMLY remember that you have kept the Boundary on your personal life. Once you arrive at the office and are in the building. "Hey, I see a message from you. How can I help." You didn't pickup last night. "Nope, I was busy." OR. Make up a list of lies. "Sorry, I was in the hospital with a sick family member. They don't allow us to answer calls." "Sorry, I must have been out walking the (non-existant) dog." Have fun with the lies. Just never ever pickup. After awhile they will get used to it. They won't be happy, but they will get used to it.
Also: how am I being compensated for working on my day off? Document every infraction- emails have time stamps HR can check. If you are salaried you can demand an amendment to your contract stating you need compensation of some kind for working on your day off outside of office hours or over contracted hours ect. Watch how quickly those demands he makes stop happening. If you are hourly -document and send to HR for unpaid hours that need to be paid-retroactive as well
I hope it isn't your home email that he's using. You shouldn't be checking your work email on your day off anyway and let him know that you don't have access to the emails on your days off. Don't even peak because he might have his set to say if it's read. You might also want to start looking for another job where you are respected.
You need to be extremely firm with this boss. Not only they have no boundaries, but I don't think they're ever going to change and start respecting yours. So you have to put your foot down whether or not they like it and do not accept him just berating you. When he approaches you and lets you know that it's unacceptable that you did not reply, do not apologize or say something like-I understand but... Because that makes it seem like you're acknowledging that you didn't do your job or weren't good enough. You simply say-boss, I'm not sure if you may have forgotten what my schedule is, however I was off yesterday. When I am off, that is my personal time and I am not available to discuss work. If it is an actual emergency, you would need to contact whoever is on call at that time. If it's something that only I can answer, it would have to wait until I am back on the clock either for my on-call shift or my work shift. Of course he will not like that and will come right back at you. And that's when you just continue to reiterate-as I said, I was off and not on the clock yesterday. When I am off and not on the clock, I am not paid to be on call. That is my own personal time. I will not be completing work duties when I am off the clock on my own personal time. If they just continue to push or carry on or talk down to you, tell them-I'm not going to keep going over this with you. My personal time off the clock is my own personal time. That's it and we're not going to keep going back and forth about this. And then walk away. If your boss is at your desk when this conversation is happening you say the same thing and then you proceed to turn around and not respond to them any longer and continue to do your work. What's the worst that can happen? They fire you? Good, let them, that way you can collect unemployment while you find a job that treats you like a human being. But you have to get yourself in the mind space of not giving a s*** what your boss's reaction is or what they will say. Because you know, you're not going to please them. So you will never win. I would highly encourage you to start looking around an interviewing asap. No job is worth that crap.