AIBU to actually want to have a day off and log off at the end of the day?

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I'm working from home and have had no time off since the start of all this. Even during public holidays, weekends and evenings my colleagues are constantly messaging each other about work, things crop up and we all log on and no one EVER seems able to stop. My house is a mess and I'm getting really resentful. Managers are taking time off and telling us to do the same but there's a culture of presenteeism developing. We're not an emergency service, doing some essential work but nothing that needs us there 24/7.
Anyone else feeling the same pressure? Even now my messenger is buzzing with people saying what they are planning to work on this weekend!!!!

turn everything off. everything.

Mute it! I mute my work WhatsApp group initially just at weekends then people started irritating me so I have it permanently muted! It was set up in the interim when people weren’t all easily contactable via work systems. However everyone is now working remotely and I’m easily contactable in numerous other ways during my working day and if it was really super urgent outside those times then my manager could call or text my mobile.

I get it, people are bored and working at home so feel they may as well do extra, especially if other people are. But when even your managers are saying to shut off from work you should listen to them!

We actually got an email today from our head of department saying that she’s just had a weeks leave and recommending that we consider doing the same. I think it’s so easy to feel that either taking leave isn’t justified or that it’s a waste during lockdown. But if you feel you need a break then why not? The problem is that some people don’t know what to do with themselves if they don’t work. So they feel better about themselves if they’re doing something “productive”. However this doesn’t mean that you should give in the the pressure. I’ve worked from home for 2 years and it’s very important to have boundaries. Once my work is done my work laptop and mobile go off and I don’t look at them until the next working day.

Can you be the one that posts that you really need a weekend off from work, the house has gone to pot and you need to get it straight for your own sanity? If your managers are encouraging you to take a break, I don't see that you've got anything to lose by being honest, particularly if you don't say that it's because you want to sit in your pj's, watching Netflix and eating leftover Easter eggs (might be what my day off has consisted of today...). Others in your team may be thinking exactly the same as you, but wanting someone else to say it first

We are being encouraged to take leave. My workload doesn't really lend itself to that at the moment, but I have taken an odd day. Even if you can't go anywhere, it's a nice break. And every Friday evening the laptop and phone get packed away til Monday!

Just take it.

9 to 5. Close the laptop, mute the phone.

Book yourself some days off.

Fuck presenteeism and 'I'm latest in the office' macho bullshit.

Yanbu, work for me is really busy and never ending due to wanky colleagues and utterly shit boss. I don't want to use up annual leave to have a day off when colleagues who have been furloughed are building up annual leave. Not sure what the answer is, but currently seeing if it might be wine. Ask me later

We're being asked to take at least a week's leave by the end of June.

We get a minimum of 5 week's leave after the first year, people with long service (of which there are a lot) get 7 weeks and we can all "buy" an extra week. If no-one took any leave at all in the first quarter of the leave year, I reckon we'd have trouble taking it by 31 March next year, and keep the minimum levels needed to keep services running.

We don't have a culture of presenteeism, and it's frowned on if people are consistently working over their hours (we have flexitime) for a prolonged period. They get sent on time management courses! No-one would expect a colleague to answer their work phone or respond to emails after a certain time, although residential services have a manager on call in case of emergencies.

Having said that, no-one slacks and if something critical, like a safeguarding, crops up at 4.30 on a Friday it still gets dealt with. And staff will always work late if there's an emergency, like getting a woman into refuge or an illegal eviction.

Stick the auto reply ‘Out of office’ over the weekend. Suggest an email/message curfew out of normal working hours. We have this and it means you’re not forever ‘just checking’. I’m dreading my new job where they don’t seem to do this.

Thanks everyone for those positive messages! I get it- everyone wants to be busy so no one can say they are slacking or unnecessary. I just think if we are all knocking ourselves out we will end up being ill! I will try and get some time off next week if I can I did post in the messenger group that I was stressed out last week and was going to have time off but ended up working anyway!!!! It's weird as we all usually work in a more relaxed pace but do step up when we need to but think it's something about the lockdown.

@GetUpAgain I feel your pain

My job is a responsive one so since this started I've worked everyday in that at the very least I've checked emails and it will be the same this weekend.

I've taken a day off next week and with the back holiday I'm going to try and switch my phone off. The problem is my colleague (who reports to me) might have yo run stuff past me but I'm going to ask her to text me.

We are actively encouraging all employees to take time off at the moment - whether one day a week or a whole week off, whatever works for people. It’s really important that people can switch off, more so than ever in this current wfh climate.

My O/H's work is directly connected to the crisis, he doesn't manage to log off before 6pm but today he has logged off and that will be it until 8 am Monday morning. He insists his team do the same.
A burned out workforce is no good to anyone.
Just message with "See you Monday guys" and shut everything down.

My work calls come through my laptop. When I leave work, I turn my laptop off.
I’ve been working from home for over a decade. The few people that might need to reach me in a true emergency have my personal cell phone number.

What?? Why are you getting work messages etc on the weekend and in the evenings? What hours were you working previously?

Ignore any messages that are outside of your normal office hours.

I'm working odd hours at home due to the kids so I dont look at work stuff before 9pm and work through until 1am. Plus the weekend. I'm going to send messages about stuff but have made it clear I dont expect replies outside normal hours just because I'm working late

Got this sent to me yesterday and was impressed it was from an nhs trust. I think you should stick this on your fridge and repeat them to yourself daily! What is your industry?

My dh is like this at the moment ,me not so much .
He is working from about 7am to about 11 at night .
He doesn’t stop to have lunch , he barely has 10 mins to make a cup of tea.
He’ll stop for say half hour while we have dinner at around 7pm but straight after he’s on his work phone checking emails and then the lap top comes back out .
I know it’s hard for him as he’s recently been given a large promotion (no extra pay though obviously ) so he’s trying to prove he can do it but it’s doing my head in that he never seems to have down time and can’t switch off .

A lot of it is because people aren't used to working from home, so they're not used to manually switching from work to home mode - and they'll be flipping into home mode and back to work a dozen times a day to deal with day to day home stuff as well, thanks to kids etc.

Homeworking is a skill, and it takes training and practice. For many people it's not something that comes naturally. The context switching damages concentration, and the lack of the commute bookending the working day makes it psychologically easier to "just answer this one email while cooking dinner...." which eats up the whole evening. And suddenly you crash from stress.

The NHS bit from Merename above is an excellent starter - take that and incorporate it, get your manager to share it around.

I think part of the issue is that those of us who are parents wfh are sometimes trying to get the hours in around the kids, which means emailing early or late in the day when they are in bed, or at the weekends. Which then makes other feel like they can’t switch off. It’s kind of a vicious circle. for sanity I think we all need to set hours when we log on and switch it all off the rest of the time.

DH packs up his computer and monitors at 5 on Friday, and doesn't get them out until 8 or 9 on Monday. That way he has a weekend, we get two days where we're not third fiddle, and he doesn't end up under the patio.

@SpoonBlender wish that was the case for dh except he’s worked from home a day or two a week for the last 3 years and has always been the same .
He’s in telecommunications though so it’s pretty high pressured right now (although every thing seems to be!)

The taking annual leave is an important point for organisations. They really dont want to be in a position of people having weeks left by the end of the financial year due to lockdown.

And agree with others. Turn off all notifications. I've never, ever had any on and can't understand why people do. You'll check what you need to check when you need to - why on earth do you need gadgets bleeping at you all the time.

Also, work your designated hours, even if they're not at regular times due to childcare or whatever.

This is going to be a marathon not a sprint, and building up resilience and endurance is vital.