To not check my work emails on my days off?

[OverpaidT]

I don't work a normal 9-5 job. I work shifts and only work three days a week due to my shifts. However, my company is made up of shift workers and 9-5 workers. If I send an email I don't expect a reply for a few days minimum as I might be sending it at 2am on a Saturday night. I don't check my emails when I'm home on non-working days. I received an email which has had me questioning this and I now wonder if people who do have equipment to WFH check their emails when they are on their days off?

No, I don't unless it's exceptional circumstances. I'm the manager, so what I do sets the tone for office. I want my staff to relax and switch off from work on days off so they are fresh and I get best work from them when they are in. I don't expect people to work when I'm not paying them for that time.

You should enforce the boundary as per contract. If you were expected to check emails outside of your shifts then details would be included in your contract and there would possibly be a payment in exchange for your flexibility. I’m sure the 9-5 staff don’t look at their emails outside of work hours.
Can you talk to HR about this issue or your manager.

Absolutely no way! Do you have it in writing that someone has implied you should be doing this? Unless it's an exception stated in your contract that's not the default position at all. I would think they are treading on thin ice there. Save the email in case things escalate, this very issue was the subject of a tribunal at somewhere I used to work (they won, and it wasn't me though)

I am similar to you in that I work shifts, I might therefore be working Monday, Saturday, Sunday - in that case I might give them a quick once over on a Wednesday to make sure there's nothing super urgent. But if I'm off for 1 or 2 days between shifts then no - I just check when I'm next in.

I do, but I don’t think it’s something that should be expected or encouraged. I don’t reply unless it’s something urgent, but working part time I find it easier to have an idea of what going on before I come back on a Monday, rather than spending half the morning catching up.

It can help to set your out of office even though you technically aren’t away. Just have something like my next shift begins Tuesday afternoon. I’m part- time, but people tend to forget that I leave at 3 every day, so setting my out of office to auto-reply helps with expectations.

It depends on how much you're paid, and how much overtime your 9 to 5 colleagues do. (If you're in a senior role, absolutely. If it's a low-paid, junior role, not at all.)

I expect a little bit of checking emails on non-working days from our part-timers, but proportionate to the amount of checking emails that our full-timers do late at night and at the weekends.

As you're paid for fewer days, you have to make sure you don't end up accidentally working as many days as your full-time colleagues. There's a bit of a balance between being helpful and letting yourself be trampled on.

I have mine set up on my phone so can check quickly and easily without it seeming like too much of a task. I am not expected too and wouldn't reply to anything unless urgent but I work part time so just find it easier to keep track of what's going on when I'm not there so I don't have loads of emails waiting for me when I get back in.

I'm part time and do check my emails on my days off. But I don't always reply and it's more so I can keep track of what's going on and don't feel overwhelmed. It's certainly not an expectation though.

Absolutely not, I don't check mine beyond 5.30 on work days either. If anything is that urgent they can call me otherwise it can wait until tomorrow.

You've established really good boundaries by not checking your emails on your days off. Your non work days are to give you the space and time to rest, rejuvinate and re-energise which is important to maintain good mental health and wellbeing.

Checking emails on non work days feeds into the increasingly toxic work culture of presenteeism. Presenteeism is also a major cause of stress derived from work.

Please don't second-guess your decision. Continue as you have been doing, maintain your boundaries and ignore whatever has been communicated in that email.

When I finish work on a Thursday both my work phone and my laptop are turned off, I don’t switch them on again until Monday morning.

I was just about to say the same as glowing
When you finish for a few days switch your ‘out of office’ message on and add when you will next be in work. It sends a reply back to the sender immediately.

@rainkeepsfallingdown

It depends on how much you're paid, and how much overtime your 9 to 5 colleagues do. (If you're in a senior role, absolutely. If it's a low-paid, junior role, not at all.)

Are you serious? This is absolute nonsense - when do people get time to switch off??

I expect a little bit of checking emails on non-working days from our part-timers, but proportionate to the amount of checking emails that our full-timers do late at night and at the weekends.

If you're in a leadership role this is a completely unacceptable and irresponsible attitude and expectation to adopt. If you expect your part-time workers to check emails on non-working days, then you should change these roles to full-time and pay people accordingly. I hope someone else comes along and calls you out on this!

I know my manager won't expect me to read my emails. He messages me on my home phone if he needs something urgent from me and I'm happy with that. I'll keep off them like I'm currently doing.

I was going to say the same. I am part time - I’m an accountant. I don’t check emails after Thursday unless something v impotent going on. There is no need and it’s appalling practice to “expect” it as you end up doing a full time job for half the bloody pay!

I don't unless something major is going on.

I work shifts and many of my colleagues work shifts too. I do not check my emails on my days off. I have a work PC at home. I am allowed to use it for personal use, so I may turn it on and log on so I can get internet access, but I don’t look at my work emails.

[quote NurseButtercup]@rainkeepsfallingdown

It depends on how much you're paid, and how much overtime your 9 to 5 colleagues do. (If you're in a senior role, absolutely. If it's a low-paid, junior role, not at all.)

Are you serious? This is absolute nonsense - when do people get time to switch off??

I expect a little bit of checking emails on non-working days from our part-timers, but proportionate to the amount of checking emails that our full-timers do late at night and at the weekends.

If you're in a leadership role this is a completely unacceptable and irresponsible attitude and expectation to adopt. If you expect your part-time workers to check emails on non-working days, then you should change these roles to full-time and pay people accordingly. I hope someone else comes along and calls you out on this![/quote]
To be clear, in my line of work, overtime is actually part of the job description and it's expected. The key thing is making sure that it's spread amongst the entire team fairly.

Anyone who refuses to do overtime ever wouldn't make it past a junior role anyway, so not really an issue for you. It's the way that my profession works, but we are remunerated in a way that takes this into account.

The part-timers actually get a much better work-life balance than the full-timers as we all desperately try to respect their non-working days where we can, with urgent out-of-hours things often falling on the full-time staff. But yes, I do expect them to do more than their core hours, because we're a team, and we all have to share the load - it's just obviously I expect them to share a lot less of the load proportionately.

@OverpaidT

I know my manager won't expect me to read my emails. He messages me on my home phone if he needs something urgent from me and I'm happy with that. I'll keep off them like I'm currently doing.

Well, if your manager is happy with your current approach, and so are you, what needs to change?

Where did this challenge come from?

A different department which is a support to my department. There are lots of managers and I am expected to answer to them as well.

I would second the out of hours message. Especially if people needing to message you don’t know which days you work. I would be pissed off to wait several days for a reply when an OOH message could have prompted me to try elsewhere for the information.

I actually agree with a PP - there are roles where some of the high pay is to account for the inevitability of having to check emails out of hours, work weekends/late nights etc when the need arises and similar. You wouldn't last a month pointing out that your hoursdays are x-y only.

In most roles though? No, and it sets a poor precedent.

Some people do, some don't as long as you're doing your job and are comfortable with your choice why would you change?

Different workplaces have different cultures and expectations

I don't check my email on my days off and have missed some important meetings as we got less than 8 hours notice to attend them when they are outside business hours and I couldn't have organised childcare that quickly any way! But I spoke to my manager and he wasn't bothered, said it was their fault for piss-poor communication!