Working on non-working day - do you do it?

[resipsa]

I'm just interested in knowing if the position I adopt is unreasonable.

For years, I worked full time but after having DD I reduced my pattern to 4 days a week with Friday being my non-working day.

As I see it, it's like an extended weekend and as I am not being paid, I am not obliged to work (unless arranged in advance because the work requires it which happens 8-10 times a year). I imagine that many who work for 5 days a week view their weekends in the same way.

And yet, every Friday, without fail, I receive at least one email or phone call which asks me to do something. These are usually preceded by 'I know it's your day off but...'. If I see/hear the message and I take the view that I need to reply, I do. Otherwise I leave it until Monday. I am being criticised (subtley) for this approach. Apparently, it makes things 'awkward'. Sometimes I don't see/hear the message until then anyway as Friday is, of course, my non-working day.

What do you do? Do you make yourself available regardless or take the view that it is your time?

To give it context, I'm a solicitor (senior but not a partner) working for a top 50 firm outside London.

I've ended up doing a lot of work on my days off.

Mostly I'm okay with it because I like what I do, but I can get a bit fed up sometimes.

I do manage to do nice things with my DC still so even though I do some work, they are still precious days off to me.

I'm as flexible as possible (3 days a week) and, childcare issues allowing, will go in for meetings or take conference calls on a non working day, or swap around days/hours to accommodate work that needs to happen on a non working day etc, or deal with urgent emails/work that's spilled over from working days.

However, I do this because I get flexibility from my employer in return and I really appreciate that it works both ways - no issues with jigging things around to let me work from home if necessary, or spread my hours across 5 days for a couple of weeks to help with childcare problems during the school holidays. My boss would also only ever phone or email if it absolutely couldn't be dealt with by someone else, and never asks me to work one of my non work days, I always offer.

I'd be very pissed off if it was taken for granted or became such a regular thing as to be unremarkable.

Back - good point - DD is just 3 and so the idea that she might go off and amuse herself for an hour or so while I work is not realistic.

Yabu.

People find it awkward because you are inconsistent.

As a solicitor, are Fridays a particularly busy day? If so, like a po said, perhaps it is not the best day to have off in your profession.

Sassy the first.... There's no of course about it. All you people working hours you are not paid for create an expectation that the rest of us will do it too.

Solidarity in only working contracted hours! (starts chanting)

Yanbu not to work on your day off if you don't want to. You're not contracted to do it and you're not paid for it.

I'm FT but do respond to stuff in the evenings, over the weekend and when I'm on leave etc. I think it's expected once you get to a certain level, but personally, I wouldn't judge someone who chose not to. On the other side of the coin, I have a high degree of flexibility when needed - give and take on both sides.

Pp, not po.

Benzal - you're right. Wednesday would have been wiser but DD starts school next year and so to change it now (after 2 years plus) seems pointless.

PS What is my inconsistency? Only dealing with the objectively urgent? The rest can (really, after 20 years at it I say it with confidence) wait.

And the flexibility point is a key issue. I have to attend a lot of hearings, many of which are 5 days plus. I pay for nursery for 4 days upfront and if I send DD in for an extra day on a Friday, I have to pay for an extra day which the firm will not reimburse if I subsequently take TOIL. This is hardly an incentive to do my job better by working on a Friday...

Basically, lawyers are bs to work for and I should not be surprised as I was 40 when I had DD so had seen it all.

I just meant that by replying to the ones you see, but not to the ones you don't, your colleagues don't know what to expect.

I didn't mean to sound unsympathetic.... It's really hard to play the 'flexibility' game and not end up giving a whole lot more than you ever take.

I work 4 days and have done for 11 years now, since I went back from mat leave the first time. I put an out if office on and switch my work emails off and let calls go to my answerphone. Everyone is used to this set up now and they know I won't reply. However, I'll answer text messages as I can do that super quick and with bullet points. Essentially someone else will pick up the work with my guidance.

That said, I do occasionally change my day off if urgent. This flexibility means it's give and take.

For the next few weeks have plans for your day off, days at the seaside, visiting friends, shopping trips. Casually drop how busy you'll be into conversations, that way they'll know you're not going to reply or you can 'accidentally' not hear your phone going.

I was working four days but always ending up working on my day off. Not under any pressure to do so other than the desire to keep things moving. I agree with what a Pp said about 'owning' the job if you are 4 days. I have now gone full time. I must say I never resented doing the extra stuff as my employer is super flexible and always appreciated that I wasn't obliged to do it. That makes a big difference I think.

For me, it is not about keeping the business afloat as other posters have said...I am not that important

It is purely to keep me organised. Nobody who emails me on a Monday expects a response as they know I don't work.

Like a pp said, my manager also works 4 days a week and I email her on her day off and I don't expect a response until she is next in work...surely that is the point of emails??

Be consistent and they will learn that you don't work Fridays. Don't listen to messages, update your out of office.

You can change your day off to a Wednesday, I did. Why not?

If you think lawyers are bastards to work for, try being a female in construction.

Anyhow.

I work two days a week at college, teaching, and two days a week in my own business, also teaching. I lesson plan on my day off, and prepare resources etc. But I don't do work that should have been given to me in good time by colleagues until it crosses my two days in, even though they say it needs doing by tomorrow. In my mind, if they want something turned around they need to give all part timers at least a week, so that it crosses the time they are in. Otherwise I get zero time to plan. It's not my fault they can't manage their own time.

My own business, I do what needs doing whenever it needs it. Obviously.

Can you pop in your out of office reply that you will deal with in upon your return, and if it is urgent, for them to contact 'a named person'? And I'd look to the cause of all the urgencies and see if if could address this up front, for example someone might not check their stuff til Thursdays which throws up issues on a Friday...I'd find out if that could be changed to Wednesdays...that sort of thing.

Clients, I would answer the phone, take notes and tell them that I don't work Fridays but will address it on Monday. I would do this twice a day. After that I would let it go to answer phone.

I worked 4 hours yesterday on my day off and I always check e-mails over the weekend.
It's expected.

I just changed my non-working day from Friday to Wednesday to see what difference it makes. I felt I was missing contributing at the very end of projects/deadlines which a very often Fridays (I'm an accountant). Also Fridays are quite quiet in terms of meetings so I actually get a lot more done.

The past few weeks I have worked evenings and weekends as there hasn't been time in the working day. I don't mind that because I wouldn't need to do it if I didn't have to leave for the nursery pick up at 5. I never used to finish at 5 before I had kids. Also I don't expect to do it year round, just at crunch points in the year. I do expect my teams to be flexible too. Although they aren't always this is rarely to do with childcare responsibilities. Some people just aren't very flexible!!!

Meant to add in answer to your original question I never work on my non working day. I'm too busy juggling a baby and a toddler, it would be impossible to make any guarantees. I get 50-70 emails on my day off. They all get out of office and I deal with them all on my way into work the next day. Most people don't expect a reply that day though, which is probably the difference between what you are experiencing.

This is really interesting - I go back from mat leave soon and will be working full time hours, but over 4 days. It will be interesting to see how people react to that - I'll have worked a full week, but I wonder if they will expect me to still be available on the weekday that I'll be off.

I won't be!! Don't see the point - I'm way too low down the food chain to feel obligated!

I'm 3 days a week, and also a lawyer.

I only check my work emails if I know in advance that there's something particularly urgent going on that I'm responsible for - colleagues will be handling the file, but I'll look at my emails maybe twice on each day off. I don't actually do any work, but I'll reply/forward to my colleagues with maybe a few lines of explanation/background/what I need them to do.

If I don't know there's anything urgent going on, I won't look at emails at all. Colleagues do have my personal mobile number, so may text with a query if it's urgent, but I have no problem telling them it can wait until the next day if that's what I think.

I basically see my days off as an extension to the weekend, so sometimes you do a little work/be contactable on the weekend if it's urgent, it's hard to be taken seriously as a lawyer if you don't do that, I think all the part timers at my work do the same.

If it's routine that people are contacting you on your day off, maybe make clearer to your colleagues what your expectations are? Before my days off, I email my partner, secretary and anybody I'm working directly with on something urgent to remind them I'm off for the next 2 days, who is covering urgent matters, and that they have my mobile number if urgent but I won't be checking emails. That may help?

I'm not sure what area you work in but as a solicitor Friday for me (while nice for a long weekend) is not the best for working at home or having off. I have found middle of the week best. I would have a lot of deadlines for Friday.

I have always been very clear with clients when I am not in the office. Maybe I have been lucky but clients/colleagues have generally respected this. I would get the odd phone call from my secretary but she was very good and knew when something was urgent enough to call me. I have always made it clear that I am happy to deal with anything urgent that comes up. Middle of the week is better as even though Monday is the next working day after Friday, clients will often think something can't wait until Monday to be dealt with, whereas in the middle of the week they would be fine to wait until the next day.

I suppose it also depends on how you want to be seen - whether being viewed possibly as inflexible/clock watcher etc (even though it is your day off and you shouldn't be working!) bothers you. I always reached my target for billing which helped to counter any possible complaints.

I'm a solicitor and my contracted hours are school hours. I always deal with work outside my working hours because;

1. I'm head of service and it's expected.
2. Courts don't list cases according to my childcare arrangements
3. I work flexi time so can get the hours back through taking time at another time (although I don't claim it all back, by any stretch)

4.I can't expect my team to work later/ earlier when we have a lot of work and not do the same

1. It provides a better service to the client

I work full time but would always check my emails on days off/ weekends just in case something needed dealing with- it's seen as part of the job. That said I would in your position push back at getting so many urgent emails - there is a drive in iur place to make managers think about whether something is urgent. You need to manage expectations. Also though when you signed up to work four days what was the agreement re Fridays