Emails - annual leave

[BearHuntAgain]

I’m genuinely questioning whether I’m being unreasonable or my manager is.

I work in a relatively small team for a large multinational company. We’re a very busy team and there’s never enough hours in the day. Since coming back from mat leave I’ve definitely been putting stronger boundaries in place regarding my working hours.

I’m taking annual leave the rest of this week and DH are going away just the two of us for the first time since having DC2 (she’s two). it’s been a really shit 6 months and we really need this.

At the end of our team meeting my boss mentioned about taking my work phone and just checking emails at the end of the day in case there are any emergencies. I basically said no. He then emailed me after the meeting to say that I was setting a bad example to the junior members of the team.

I responded saying that it’s important for everyone to switch off on annual leave. I’d have my personal phone for them to get hold of me if an emergency. He responded reiterating it didn’t take long to check and forward on anything urgent.

Everyone in the company knows who my colleagues are and would reach out to them if urgent. I’m not so senior that I’m paid an amazing wage so it justifies being available. And I’m going to have an out of office on saying to contact my colleagues if needed.

I’m really annoyed that it’s on me to actively log into my emails to check each day (technically only away for three days).

YABU - it’s a quick check just to make sure nothing urgent has been sent.

YANBU - it’s your annual leave. It’s encroaching on your time and your team can cope for a few days without you.

Be more Veronica 😁

https://youtube.com/shorts/Tl8EBjYBC_g?si=RtT2XyCf-91DAsNY

Stick to your guns.

It's not right, they can ask but there are perfectly good solutions:
Level 1: out-of-office messages for both internal and external with a very clear 'this inbox will not be monitored' thing.
Level 2: Getting an auto-forward set up so they are fed through to your manager
Level 3: Providing full access to your emails to your boss or colleagues (I know people are uncomfortable but it should all be work related and is actually the easiest, your employment contract probably already allows for access anyway. You can change your password again when you're back

I've actually got my manager to change my password to prevent me accessing emails when I'm away as I find it so hard not to check in. With all data on the cloud it's so easy to find out what's going on all the time. They have happily obliged, and asked me to do the same for them too! Your manager is a bit of a dick for expecting that. They can ask - sure - but you can reply 'no, here are the solutions' and they should definitely accept that.

YANBU, your boss is being ridiculous.

I would ask one of the team to be your deputy for anything urgent and to escalate to boss if there is anything they can't handle themselves. Let your boss know you have done this and remind him that a good work life balance prevents burnout.

Meanwhile I would look for another job as it feels like an unacceptable work environment to me.

It’s important to role model a healthy work life balance so you are absolutely correct. I am a manager and if I work out of hours I don’t email folk at ridiculous hours as it’s not the way it should be. I don’t want my team to think it’s the norm.
your boss has approved your leave and if he is so concerned direct enquiries to him on your out of office. He can cover emergencies, what a cheek he has!

What a terrible manager.
There should be things in place to cover people on AL, or away from work for any other reason. Would he be expecting you to check your work emails if you were run over by a bus?

Please model how to take very important time off to the junior members of staff.

Ridiculous. If people are too stupid to follow an instruction on an out of office, they can wait for a reply. Enjoy your leave and don't give it a second thought.

Your boss has boundary issues and unrealistic standards. Willing to bet his home life is a mess. Anyway, he has said his piece, you are managing it your way with your OOO, so go and enjoy your break and quality DH time.

I think companies, especially big multi national ones, need to get better at setting expectations with their clients that their staff will occasionally take holidays and they may need to wait a few days for a reply, people have got to used to expecting everything now now now.

Definitely. Put an out of office message with a colleague or just the general details for the team. As an emergency contact.

You are being very reasonable @BearHuntAgain
In fact I would say you are setting an excellent example to your colleagues: trusting team members to deal with emergencies; putting up appropriate boundaries to try and achieve an appropriate work-life balance; reduce attrition/burnout and staff turnover-over which any company should aspire to.

Unless you're director level and have director salary to go with it. No need to look at emails. If it is ab emergency they can call 999.

This could actually get your manager into a lot of trouble. So stupid of him.

She doesn't have to do that.

OP you're on annual leave. You're absolutely in the right and your manager is wrong.

YANBU. Why would you need to forward anything on anyway? You’re out of office reply can redirect anyone with something urgent

Of course you're not being unreasonable.

You've set up your out of office. If anyone really needed something done urgently, they'd have the information required to forward on their response to another member of your team.

Your line manager has no right to ask you to do this, or accuse you of setting a poor example to the team. You are doing absolutely the right thing in setting and modelling healthy boundaries.

I would send an email with the following:

'Thanks so much for your email highlighting your concerns around me not checking emails while on annual leave and this setting a bad example to our junior colleagues.

As stipulated in my contract of employment, I am entitled to X days of annual leave, during which I have no obligation to be in contact with or complete any work on behalf of the company, of any nature.

Please do feel free to confirm this with HR.

As such, I will not be checking my emails while I am away. My out of office is on, with you as the contact should anything urgent come up in my absence.'

Well done you! 👏 your annual leaveis your time away from work. They can pay you if they want you to spend time working at the end of the day.

Well done for pushing back on this. Do not capitulate.

Your manager is absolutely the one setting the bad example here

An out of office will clearly state who people can contact in your absence. If the company cannot survive without you there for a week or two then they are not set up properly as no one person should be a lynchpin- its too much of a risk

At my work you are absolutely expected to turn off completely on leave. My boss is v senior and also switches off on leave

It really depends. If you’re happy where you are career wise YANBU. If you want to be a senior member of the team with responsibility YABU.

If he raises it again, I'd go to HR over it.

You are not wrong here.

Depends where you work and the culture surely. My manager is Senior Leadership (over 100k) and doesn't look at emails on leave

Where OP works it might be the expected culture. Or just a shit manager

In my experience professionals don’t just sign off once they hit a certain level. You hit a certain salary and that’s part of the game essentially.

Well done OP! Surely you’ll have an out of office message turned on which directs people to contact someone else on your team if their email is urgent?

Where I work (London Legal firm) only the partners would check mobiles on holiday. Maybe not even then.