22:30 work call - completely unacceptable?

[shortbreadconsumer]

I received a work call from someone in my organisation at 22:30 last night. I answered, thinking it was an emergency. The colleague was completely hysterical and impossible to understand. In the end I had no choice but to end the call with 'we can discuss this in the morning.'

This morning I spoke to the persons line manager about it, who said that it was 'unfortunate, but not unreasonable' for this individual to have called me as I had not answered any emails from said colleague over the weekend. They had sent me over 50 emails this weekend. I did not see the emails as seniors within the organisation take an 'if it's urgent, they have my number' approach.

I am more senior than both of of these colleagues and I was 'on call' all weekend as the most senior point of contact in the organisation. However, this was not an issue that required weekend working and, more importantly, it was not an issue that I needed to be consulted on. It was very simple and should have easily been resolved in working hours by this individual alone - her direct line manager would not have needed to input either.

AIBU to think that this was unprofessional and unacceptable from both of them?After no sleep, I've reached that 'was it really that bad' point where I am so sleep deprived that I am not sure whether I am overreacting in my annoyance or not!

Are they happy with you publishing a detailed account of it on a public internet forum, where it could easily be read by your junior colleague?

I'll say it again.
The employee had no business working. She was not expected to be working.
If she felt distressed then she had the opportunity to call any medical professional she thought appropriate. Other members of staff aren't medically trained and should not be seen as such.
Perhaps finding out the correct procedure would have been beneficial to the employee.

Wow you are very unreasonable. You were on call you missed 50 emails and then when your colleague eventually called you in clear distress you dismissed them. I hope your manager pulls you up on your behaviour.

All you who are of the "be kind" persuasion - how about if OP had listened for 45 minutes, then said something wrong/given advice etc and the other person had then spiralled even more and did something stupid on the back of what OP said to them, how bad would that have been? Very in most workplaces, and the paper trail back to her may have resulted in at the very least a final warning.

I obvs dont know the OP's profession, but even if it IS counselling, it is not her responsibility to advise someone when she doesnt know the whole situation.

She listened, showed humanity and then what else do you all suggest she did??

Fgs she didnt MISS 50 emails - she is on-call on the PHONE, she is not expected to reply to emails

Ex HR here and I agree with OPs HR that id be happy there was nothing more the op could do at the time. She spent 45 minutes talking to Incoherent Lady, couldnt get anywhere, wasn't being listened to. Op was absolutely right to end the call. Sometimes its the best of a bad situation. If this person is as close to the edge of a breakdown as some claim/project then op could have made it so much worse if she'd said the wrong thing even if it was intended to be supportive.

Bottom line is, the employee wasn't listening to op, so op couldn't do anything more. Ops HR would be very, very foolish to have supported any disciplinary action towards op.

For crying out loud! Read the thread! She's not expected to monitor her email. The procedure is that the OP is only contacted if the colleague who is the actual point of contact decides to do so. The distressed employee didn't follow procedures. And shouldn't have been working.

Yet another of many posters who took the time to type out a reply but couldn't bother to read @shortbreadconsumer posts.
READ THE UPDATES.
It will take you less time than typing out your response did.
No 50 emails to OP
@shortbreadconsumer has full support and that is the correct decision.

Out of hours my colleagues welfare is nothing to do with me. My own families welfare takes priority.

I agree that the OP gave 45 minutes of her own time late at night when she had to be up very early for work. She would only really potentially expect to hear from the manager who was on call if she had an emergency to refer to OP.

Can I just ask @shortbreadconsumer, where was the manager who was really supposed to be on call when all the emails came in? It's sounding like they were at fault for not being available when on call so it ended up at your door, but the woman having the mental health episode on the phone should have been calling them and not you. Could they not get hold of the person on call so spiralled over time and got in a real panic and escalated to you? That's the only way I could think that this could have happened.

Can you read? She spent 45 minutes trying to calm and reassure the person on the phone that it was nothing to worry about and would be dealt with in working hours.

How long do you expect a manager who is meant to be emergency on call to leave her phone tied up with an issue that is nothing to do with her, and not an emergency?

Op already clarified that the incoherent colleague didn’t actually contact the first port of call at all. They just emailed her personally 50 times and then called her so the first tier support had no idea this person even had an issue.

presumably you’ve read the thread?

take this also as your notice I won’t be engaging with you further. You’ve made this whole thread entirely about you.

Take this as your notice 🤣🤣🤣🤣

An employer doesn’t have a duty of care 24/7 for their staff. Presumably they employ adults who should be capable of looking after themselves, or have friends or family who can support. Or maybe OP should just go round the employee’s house and wipe her arse for her as well?

Also what you’d be getting if you were my employee!

Right I really am off now. Unlike you I have other things to do

Why you replying again you have given me my notice 🤣🤣🤣

Having read your updates yes op I think the employee needs to be referred for an occ health assessment re mental health and stress if they’re spending all wekened in hysterics about a non urgent matter.

Oh yes, then the junior manager is not at fault either. I'm just trying to fathom how the woman got so incredibly upset to the point that this happened when help actually was actually easily available all weekend for her. She should have just called the correct person in the first place, it seems too simple to get wrong, but then the woman appears to have extreme anxiety.

Hopefully HR will be guiding her through the correct procedures to access out of hours help for the future.

I'd just like to add, that as some who IS a qualified Mental Health First Aid Worker and HAS held that role in a work environment.. the OP handled this as well as can be expected.

Even MHFA are told to just listen, offer support, signpost people to family/friends and outside support agencies. It is NEVER our job to be a replacement for Samaritans,

The OP comes across as very superior.
If a junior colleague had called me at home I would be irritated but I wouldn't have cut the line and spent the following hour 'getting my ducks in a row' with HR and her line manager.
Unless it was urgent that blame for something was deflected and apportioned away from me........

I agree with this OP, especially if the 50 emails are not an exaggeration on your part and she really did send 50. Something is not right here, I can’t imagine sending 50 emails within the space of a weekend to anybody in any circumstance.

If a junior colleague had called me at home I would be irritated but I wouldn't have cut the line

OP spent 45 minutes trying to talk to this person. How much longer should she have spent?

There are plenty of people telling the op she was wrong, but none that I can see offering any other suggestions, taking into account all the circumstances op has explained.

I don’t think she did do that, she spent the best part of an hour on the phone to the distressed colleague and then in the morning at work she spoke to the people who needed to know that a serious mental health problem and breach of usual procedures had occurred, ie the person’s direct manager and HR.

That’s not acting ‘superior’ in fact it’s quite the opposite, it’s taking full responsibility as best she could in an unusual and unexpected situation, it sounded like a serious breakdown of a person she doesn’t even know so she couldn’t just keep that to herself could she? I also understand why it worried and upset OP but she did all that she could and her higher manager is happy with her actions.

To say nothing and not report would be irresponsible.

have you noticed that not a single person that has been asked that question has answered it yet?