To think we’re blurring the boundaries between work and everything else?

[SnugShaker]

It feels like work is creeping into every part of life - checking emails after hours, being expected to be “always available”, work chats bleeding into social media. Even hobbies and side projects are now seen as things that should be monetised or career-boosting.

Is it just me or have we completely lost the idea of switching off?

You may have. I haven't. It's a personal choice.

I agree OP, especially about the work chats. This wasn't an expectation a while ago

I don’t have work emails on my phone. I don’t have slack or work teams on my phone. Or work zoom. If they want me they can get me during working hours. When I shut the laptop I’m done.

If work want me to be on call they can pay me for it. And provide a phone.

About ten years ago, yes. Now, not so much. I'm a senior director and rarely read emails after 5pm or before 9am.

I think that’s been happening for a long time, and now life is intruding into work in equal measure.

I dont do this, i know lots of people who do it an complain but it is their choice or they go on about being judged if they dont or some other competing thing, I start at 9 and finish at 5 and thst is it

I don't think about work after I've logged off. I don't have work stuff on my personal phone. If you're in a job where it's expected that you're always on then maybe it's time to find a new job.

Agree with this.

My employer doesn't get a second out of me that's not paid for.

I have done things in my personal time that's related to my career - courses and whatnot - but these things have been with a view to improving my life, with better chances of promotion, and not for my employers' benefit.

Id say having a separate work phone and being expected to put teams/ outlook on your personal phone is more common, making it much harder to switch off. No one forces you to where i work but its easier than only having it on the laptop, price to pay though.

I hate slack messages. People seem to fire over a one line "quick question" that actually requires a bit of work to respond to but expect an instant response.

I agree with this especially with the increase in WFH. I think you can’t have it both ways - if you want to be able to switch off at 5pm and be super strict about when you work then it also means you can’t pop to the dentist or do the school run while you’re ’WFH’. If however you want a job that’s flexible and allows you to do these things then it also means occasionally logging on in an evening to catch up.

I agree we shouldn’t be expected to be constantly available but I do think if you want a flexible role then you have to have some slack in both directions.

Yes but I think you could argue the other way too. Home life comes into work - need to leave work to pick up kid, need to work from home as we are going on holiday tomorrow, stress leave from work as home life is too stressful etc etc.

I’m not saying it’s wrong but there is a large blur generally and it works both ways.

Yes but I think you could argue the other way too. Home life comes into work - need to leave work to pick up kid, need to work from home as we are going on holiday tomorrow, stress leave from work as home life is too stressful etc etc.

I’m not saying it’s wrong but there is a large blur generally and it works both ways.

It really annoys me when employers send work emails on Saturday /Sunday and than attach a note saying ‘ to be read on Monday’
Why not send the email on Monday then ?
Definitely think that it is a terrible idea to have your work email on your personal phone because you find that your work life encroaches on your personal life and you don’t get paid any extra .

I think you have to decide on your boundaries and stick with them

I refuse to put Teams or work emails on my personal phone.

I might privately occasionally choose to do some work at the weekend but I wouldn’t mention it to any of my colleagues so it’s not expected.

Monetising hobbies is entirely personal choice and people have always done this, it’s just more visible now.

I don’t think this is new news. I think there is at least an attempt to push back on that now - but easier in a big corporation than a small business.

I would send them back instructions for the schedule button

It does depend on what you do though, most professional jobs have always contracted you to work the hours needed to do the job, which is why a lot of companies don’t do time in lieu above a certain grade.

Obviously this is not license to go crazy.

"this is email is sent at a time that is convenient to me. I do not expect nor require a response outside of your contractual hours"

I often send emails OOO, if my direct reports check their work phones out of hours that's up to them. There is absolutely no expectation on them from me, higher management or client to do so.
But I explicitly and repeatedly tell them there is no expectation for that, and I'll often do an hour at a weekend/evening when I have free time to give me time in the week to focus on my preferred work tasks.

Maybe people should take more ownership of how they handle their work loads?

And it absolutely does go both ways. The amount of time I grant for people to attend to personal life tasks is quite surprising when I look at it.

It's not hard to set emails to be delivered at another time.

I agree with the very first poster.

You're making a choice.

I have very clear work/home boundaries that I won't allow my employer to cross.

I don't get paid enough to subscribe to any of that foolishness. Nope.

I’m very self disciplined about keeping things separate.

it’s a choice.

Just curious if you have considered scheduling the send of an email for during work hours, even if you have composed it outwith working hours? Or saving it in drafts and pressing send at the start of the next working day?

I think it is good you consider (and explicitly state) it is out with normal working hours and you don’t have an expectation of it being picked up / responded to … but I personally do think that this still adds to the culture that it is normal to be working out with contracted hours.

Yes. To be fair, my workplace does frown on sending out-of-hours emails, but this is pretty meaningless since I work in a job where it's basically impossible to be even remotely competent/successful in it without doing large numbers of unpaid hours.