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!

where's the eyeroll emoji?

It’s clear that this business’s policy of out of hours needs to be looked at at revised

for whatever reason the lady didn’t call /email or contact the junior who she should have

also seems the on call higher person (op in this) shouldnt have their contact details on display

as some people seem to by pass the junior regardless

and only the juniors details should be given

and only the junior to know who to call if needed and they can’t sort the issue out

this would have stopped this outcome

meaning that the op /higher person should only answer calls to the junior and know their number /store in phone

who then would give op/higher person the one having issues details to contact them

This here looks like the actual solution!

from what the OP says, her contact details are not on the OOH email....
"So Friday's email said:
'Department X is closed for the bank holiday weekend.
If your query is urgent, please contact 'A': 'insert email address and phone number'.
If necessary, 'A' will escalate it to the duty senior point of contact who will be in touch.'"

of course there will be in-house contact directories which is where Incoherent Person probabaly got the details from.

Regardless of the breach of protocol that meant one as low as she shouldn't be bothering one as important as you 🙄, a junior colleague called you in utter distress and because you couldn't immediately understand her, you terminated the call.

Sorry, but that makes you a pretty shit person regardless of how important you think you are

If someone is still so hysterical on the phone after 45 minutes that you can't understand them, I'd honestly be calling the police or otherwise escalating it. You don't just put the phone down on someone in that state cos you cba

spending 45 minutes trying to calm down and reassure someone does not constitute terminating the call because you couldn't immediately understand her.

I’ve read through the OP’s updates. A few people have said that she should have done more to help the situation at the time. I am not convinced that this is the case. A workplace isn’t for crisis counselling. And it isn’t the OP’s job.

Having said that, I wonder whether this is a sign that the lower level employees are badly trained and managed. Partly because of this employee but also her line manager saying that it was “unfortunate but not unreasonable” that she rang the OP because the OP hadn’t seen her emails. Neither seem to know the process (and the line manager should).

I’ve worked in places like that - chaotic and stressful at the lower levels but somehow the senior management are protected from hearing about it. If this person worked at the weekend it is a sign that she has been shouted at too often and has lost some perspective over what is and isn’t urgent / important. God knows I’ve been there.

The OP said they couldn't initially understand them because of how upset they were. They did eventually sort it out and proceeded to spend 45 minutes trying to calm them down and reassure them, which didn't work.

The OP is not OOH MH support for people who just happen to work in her place of work, 45 minutes spent is more than generous, and she is well within her rights to terminate the call at that point.

Again. she is the emergency on call. this was not an emergency, the person was upset about a work thing, they shouldn't have even been phoning the OP in the first place.

the OP is not the samaritans phone line.

This if someone can't be calmed down after 45 minutes you're either making the situation worse and kicking someone while their down or their seriously unwell.

What’s the protocol on flapping your gums on the net about a work incident and trash talking an individual who could be clearly identified by themselves or other work colleagues OP?

I’d honestly report your thread and ask for it to be taken down.

This!

I’m absolutely shocked that anyone could expect op to do more than she actually did! This is not a family member this is a work colleague she doesn’t know who shouldn’t really have her number anyway phoning her late at night about something and nothing and yet she spent almost an hour trying to soothe the woman who was a complete stranger!

The only other thing anyone else has actually been able to suggest she did was to ‘call the police’ 🙄 Really? Sure they would actually call the police in this situation 🙄

Like the police would go blue lighting out to do a welfare check because someone was distressed about work! They wouldn’t unless the woman had mentioned suicide and then they still might not! That’s the reality I’m sad to say!

Its hard to know as we don't know how much op is exaggerating but if someone is hysterical for 45 minutes and can't be calmed down calling the police for a welfare check is not unreasonable. Hanging up on someone and not getting them further help is not ok. But I would strongly suspect op is exaggerating the time and state of the employee.

100% NOT BU.

I am doing some crewing for my company. It is NOT my job. Its not even a project for my REGION. So if I get an email, message or call about it out of hours/weeknd/leave...it goes unanswered.
But my company doesn't even do 'on call' we just get told to 'as and when' - no renumeration.

Not in my contract, so i refuse to do it.

And the 50+ emails, surely. Cannot imagine anyone sending 50 emails over a weekend.

How could they be identified? It could be one of SO SO SO SO SO many civil service workplaces. Not thing from the OPS posts gives enough information away.
Also they aren't trash talking them. Calling the a useless little cretin or something - that would count, but they are not.

They are merely calling them an employee of the same entity, but that doesn't have the ability to follow basic workplace protocol.

The police wont do a welfare check because someone reports an employee is upset that 50 emails were unanswered and they are ranting on a late night phone call.

Op wouldnt have the employees address for a start.

The person involved would certainly identify themselves from this thread, assuming the situation has been accurately described.

Yes they can be identified. A very specific event that happened last weekend and discussed by HR and the individuals line manager. A name, address and inside leg measurement isn’t always required 🙄

Op isn't saying upset she's saying hysterical which is why i said either op is exaggerating or she handled it terribly

They wouldnt for someone hysterical either unless the person was talking about harming themselves.

Do you understand what word hysterical actually means?

Every time I think people are exaggerating about the lack of reading comprehension on here, I read something like this. And then I realise it’s actually worse than everyone thinks.

You cannot “miss” 50 emails if you’re not meant to be monitoring the account. Any more than OP has “missed” emails that were sent to one of her colleagues.

If you’re genuinely concerned about this junior member of staff, your ire should be directed towards his or her line manager, who made the outrageous “unfortunate but not unreasonable” claim. If a manager cannot work out - or more likely, refuses to accept - that it is indeed very unreasonable for someone to send 50 emails and then call a senior manager in hysterics, something is very wrong.

Who on earth sends 50 emails?! Most people would realise after three or four that they weren’t going to get a reply and would have tried something else. Most people would not babble incoherently at a senior manager for nearly an hour at 10.30 at night.

This person definitely needs some kind of support. But it’s utterly baffling that you and others think the OP is/was the one to give it.

Can you read?

She terminated the call after 45 MINUTES when she had done her best to sort it out

What is your solution then @SleepingStandingUp ? what WOULD have been acceptable to you - an hour/hour and a half/ 4 hours listening to the woman blubbering on?

I don't know why people are saying YABU, I think what went down was a bit strange, given it was not an emergency and you weren't even the first point of contact for an on-call matter. The fact that you received a call late at night while on-call isn't unreasonable but in this instance, it wasn't necessary at all.