Being contacted on my day off

[Ducktalesooooh]

I've just had a phone call from a colleague at work regards a document I had worked on for them. This is the third Wednesday in a row I've had a phone call on my day off.

There's nothing I can do, I'm at home with my baby. Someone in the office could have helped if they were desperate.

I'm a senior manager but am I right in thinking it's unreasonable of them to phone me at home on my day off, or should I assume that as a senior manager I am always 'on call'??

They shouldn't need to phone you on your day off. If this is a recurring thing then there's either a lot of disorganisation at your workplace, or the people phoning you are perhaps too lazy or too anxious to sort the problems out for themselves.

You don't have to answer the call when they do.

But if you're senior management then you might need to respond to make sure things are covered.

I'd look at why you've been called on your days off, and see if your staff need better training, or to be given more responsibility, so that they can resolve these issues without you being there.

I’ve just been called on my day off, had been trying to talk to my manager for two days but she was busy ignoring me as I declined to work an extra day.
So calls me this morning at 9🤔

It depends on your industry and work expectations really - when I worked in the city it was taken for granted that we were contactable at all times regardless of holiday/illness/non working days. It went with the trrritory.

You can discourage it eg let your colleagues call go to voicemail, then send a brief email suggesting they speak to x instead as this is your non working day and you’re busy. But only you can judge how that will be taken in your workplace.

I work for a small business so it might be different, but we all phone each other at any time - days off, weekends, evenings - but (and I think this is the important bit) if we don't want to answer, or it's not convenient then that is fine, no one complains.

Stop answering the phone!

+1 to stop answering the phone. Let it ring. They'll get the picture soon enough.

Depends whether it’s to meet client expectations and nature of the query. I wouldn’t mind a quick checking call eg to check on something before going back to a client who needs a same day response

If it was a document being worked on and could wait a day yanbu

I think your seniority means a certain commitment to the company, as you should be reimbursed well so I'd try to answer if you're able. If you're not then that should be fine too but perhaps email them if easier than a phone call with your little one?

If it's not anything urgent then you shouldn't be contacted op. Maybe go through this with your line management and clarify?

This happened with me where my manager would contact me on my day off / weekends etc until snowballed into having to go into work on my days off! (Public sector senior management) Not saying this will happen to you OP but might be better to clarify boundaries now x

YANBU, but as a senior manager is it up to you to try to create and model an office culture where this doesn't happen? And/or make sure the office systems are all working well enough to ensure that people don't have to do this?

If not, then I'd probably flag it with HR.

I would stop answering the phone, you aren't under any obligation when not at work. Do you have a separate work phone that you could switch off?

When I started my current role they tried this, and emails on Sundays and late night calls.

Ignoring them made them give up after a few weeks.

that's rather normal imo. Especially if it's about clients or things that have come up unexpectedly (or gone wrong....).

It depends on your job (description, position, sallary, sector you work in etc...) imo.

Depends what you do. Business can't stop because one person decides to take Wednesdays off.

I say this as someone who went back to work 4 days a week after the birth of my first child - Wednesdays off - and it was a rare day if no-one rang. I expected it and kept my phone with me. I wasn't expected to do 2 hour conference calls but 10 mins here and there didn't bother me. If I was putting the baby down or something I would ignore it and call them back. I would happily respond to quick emails.

For me the important thing was that I was having a day at home mostly with my baby. I worked as part of a team. I couldn't really just be absent from it all for a day.

Of course, if you work in a shop or something that's different. My friend is a GP and works three days - nobody ever calls her on her days off because there is someone covering her.

Just depends on your job.

I sympathise OP, but you are only going to let this culture continue if you keep answering the phone - people will grow to expect it, if they haven't already. I check my messages on days off but very rarely answer unless I know it's critical, and I don't answer the phone to anyone except my boss - because I know she'll only call me with no other option. If I've worked on something that could need follow up then I make it clear who can assist in my absence, and it's never ME. Try that as a start off next week, even if it means you need to email your team with a 'handover' list and say "I'm not going to be contactable today so here's a list of XYZ". Hassle I know, but you have to lead on this. Most people will start to get the picture, and no one can reprimand you because it IS your non working day. If they do, then by all means discuss with HR.

It depends, but if you are a senior manager with the pay, bonus and benefits to go with it, it's not unreasonable to take a phone call on your day off. It's the middle of the day in the middle of the week, it's not the same as the middle of the night.

Don't answer your phone if you don't want to. What would happen if you ignore it? Nothing. I don't see what would be so stressful to pass on some information to a colleague.

Being contactable is what allows many workers to work from home, work part time, take more holidays and so on.
It goes both ways, I don't mind checking my emails and take a few calls BUT no one looks at the time I spend in the office or the length of my breaks when I take them, and I get full normal pay when I am off sick.

Business can't stop because one person decides to take Wednesdays off.*

That sounds really snotty. I'm sure the OP didn't just 'decide' unilaterally; it must have been part of her contract from the start or agreed at a later date.

Also, if businesses agree to people working less than a five-day week, it's in their own interest to ensure that business needs can be met in those parameters.

This used to happen to my manager until she had a meeting with everyone to clarify that if she is off she is not to be contacted about work.
You're allowed to have a life outside of work. Hasn't France made this illegal?

I get this but I text/call others who are off too if I need to. It got really bad at one point with the manager sending me 6 really long texts at 11pm at night about pointless stuff that could have waiting until I got there in the morning and I had a hissy fit. It’s back to the odd text/call now! I work in healthcare though and sometimes we miss things/need to hand something important over to the next nurse so it’s usually a quick ‘did you forget to give or shall I do it?’ Or ‘OMG forgot to hand such and such over’