Comment from director at work

[Karting1967]

Yesterday evening one of the directors at work emailed me to do something. Clearly it could have waited till today but it only took 10 minutes, I had my laptop out anyway plus it was more convenient to do it there and then as I’ll be out of the office most of today.

His reply (copied to the other 3 directors) was “Watch TV and do this tomorrow! Thanks anyway you nutter!”

Am I overreacting to think that was an unnecessary comment?

I'm fairly senior at work and I'm not expected to work out of hours. I'd be ok with this comment. Stop looking for ways to be offended for goodness sake.

Yeah, a bit demeaning if he gives a Thanks to the other manager.
But you would have had to have come back quickly at the time. Maybe something like - would have preferred the thanks without the nutter comment, Bob. or whoever

Yab ridiculous

He obviously feels comfortable enough with you to call you a nutter and would likely be mortified if he thought you were offended.

Do people really get offended by this offhand attempt at humour?

If you find it odd, then ignore it. Just move on with your life. I really don’t have energy to get offended at innocuous comments.

He's just reinforcing that he doesn't expect or probably want you working out of hours as that has been proven to affect work life balance and he expects you to unwind.

Maybe the other director responded with his bit as he felt compelled because you had worked out of hours which is a bit unfair. Some people view this as competitive as in who can send the latest email which is not healthy

I wouldn't stew over it. Have a good day

I am a senior manager, sometime I might reply to emails in the evening whilst watching tv. If a director said this to me I would find it amusing and not see it as a negative comment at all. You should feel lucky you have such easy going directors
I think you are being far far too sensitive

Maybe he thought you had a better relationship than you do?

I like it when directors are 'normal' with their staff. If you're one of those people who prefer to keep a totally cool, neutral, non-friendly relationship try and let them know so they know not to make this mistake again?

But why shouldn't I be working out of hours?

OP because you are a senior manager not a director. So unless it is an emergency or you started late you aren't expected to be working in the late evening.

Even if you are customer facing you need to ensure your customers are aware that you have a life outside work and aren't always at their beck and call.

I don't expect my accountant or any other professional I use to reply to me after about 5.30pm. Most do if they can, but if they don't as long as I get a reply in 24 hours I'm not bothered.

It's not great that he used the word nutter which is pretty ableist, but I think the intention was to recognise that you had gone above and beyond what was required. The intention seems to be to sound appreciative, albeit it has been done in a clumsy way.

Huge over reaction, I wouldn't have thought twice about the comment and it would have made me laugh.

I have this from time to time albeit slightly different in that I run a voluntary organisation. I’m salaried but the board isn’t and I have explained that i am a mature adult, capable of managing my own time and that it can be more convenient to me to reply to a quick query and then forget about it in the evening, rather than maki g a note and starting from scratch the next day.
The concern does come from a good place but it is infantilising and i do t like it. I’ve done my best to express appreciation for the concern but point out that it is unnecessary.

He clearly didn’t mean to be patronising or offensive (although the use of the word nutter is a bit questionable).

Most replies here think you’re overreacting. He didn’t mean any offence, you chose to take it. You asked for opinions on AIBU and now you’re arguing with them. Maybe that suggests you’re the sort of person who needs to be in control too much.

He thinks you're a nutter because you decided to do work in the evening when it wasn't necessary.

He would have copied the others so it's clear that he's not making you work late and it's your choice.

It feels like, both in terms of the task itself and your interpretation of the email, you're putting in far more of your free time into your job than it requires. Have you thought about looking for a more challenging role or taking up a hobby in your free time?

Yep I would agree, you are reading too much into it.

And this is why people are scared to make jokes or have banter these days. It would not offend or bother me in the slightest. As you are a senior manager maybe find more important things to worry about?

He is trying to be kind (and probably a bit embarrassed himself that you have done the work there and then). No need to copy in the other directors - people who do that excessively irritate me.

The nutter thing is a bit unprofessional but I suppose it depends on the context in terms of what sort of working environment it is and how casual communications are.

Just let it wash over you.

I think his choice of words was not the best. However, it was kindly meant and you are reading too much into it. I would say he values you highly and has a good working relationship with you. Is that not the case?

I'm guessing that you have form for over-analysing comments, OP? You are overreacting a bit, but I doubt that will change your mind. Honestly, let it go.

Did you need him to put * lighthearted * in his thread title OP?

YABU and massively overreacting and overthinking what was clearly a light-hearted comment!

Is he Scottish by any chance as the term 'nutter' is used in jovial and affectionate banter here?

Well you seem to be determined to find it offensive in some way so don’t let us stop you.

I’m going against the grain here and agree with you that it was an unnecessary comment. Had you already done it and that’s when he replied? If so, it sounds condescending and dismissive to me. However nuance is lost in email and I don’t know your working relationship with your director which could be usually informal.

The ‘nutter’ comment is astonishingly unprofessional and there are plenty of other words he could have used to convey a “jokey” meaning if that’s what was intended. Did he really need to clog up the others inboxes with that reply? Unless they were copied into the original request I don’t see why he sent that to them. Unless he’s covering his arse for you working late?
If those directors are not raising an eyebrow at the nutter comment then that says a lot about the culture of this company. He could also have given you a deadline which would have helped.
Do you have a flexible contract where you’re expected to work out of ‘office’ hours and what would have happened if you’d waited until after today (when you couldn’t do it) to complete the task? Can you put an auto responder on emails when you’re out so in that scenario in future he’d have seen you weren’t back in till the day after. Or did you mention in your reply about that as to your reason for doing it immediately?

You are overthinking.