protecting life/work balance

[PlasticBertrand]

Writing this in a pissy mood off the back of a faintly snotty email from an (older, male, childless) colleague this morning asking why I hadn't replied to a doodle he sent on Friday afternoon for an utterly fucking pointless meeting in three weeks' time. As it happens I spent the weekend cuddling a poorly toddler and mopping up puke. I've bitten my tongue and replied politely but honestly... I try and have a policy of not working at the weekend. Just wondering how everyone else manages. Would that email have pissed you off too? Those of you with a 48-hour email reply policy at your institutions (we don't), does that include weekends? What do you do to protect your life/work balance?

I am often tasked with the challenge of setting up meetings with elusive people.

I am honestly astounded that anyone nagged about a Doodle Poll response as soon as 72 hrs after the request went out. In my world, I identify the key people who have to be there and nag only them, allow at least a week to reply at all,, end up setting the meeting time without waiting for replies from others.

I'm very sympathetic about the stress of arranging meetings when folk never reply, but doodle poll isn't even the best way to set up meetings with elusive people.

Oh well, OP, just shrug them off. They have their own stress going on, that's their challenge.

I only answer emails out of hours to my one close colleague and we have an agreement we don't generally work evenings and weekends. I have a colleague like the OP who basically thinks I'm a waste of space because I care more about my kids than my research. He is influential and this will hamper my job security and this is within an Athena Swan bronze department. Although saying that, in having a better experience generally than in the Athena Swan silver department I worked in previously. Stand your ground, these people are bullies.

How'd it turn out, plastic? Given I leave to get my daughter from nursery at 5pm, I definitely could not make a meeting at 5:30!

Just seeing this thread now. It's a struggle I have all the time. My health means I absolutely cannot work evenings or weekends (well, I could, but then I'd end up collapsing half way through the working week, and that's a bit more noticeable...). I particularly hate grant deadlines in early Jan. I have to defend over and over that I do not work Christmas holidays.