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Original poster

Sleeping through work emails

116 replies

szympli · 12/10/2023 07:58

If a more senior colleague was working on a project and you got asked to help on it… you worked 9am-11:30pm after waking up at 6am for school run. The senior colleague told you to go home. 45 minute journey home. You get into bed at 12:30 and fall fast asleep.

Woke up at 6am for school run to a barrage of missed emails about the work I did. Colleague would have been able to figure it out but obviously would take time. Some of the stuff I told him before I left. I work in finance btw.
Will I be in trouble for missing the emails?

OP posts:
Princessfluffy · 12/10/2023 08:01

No

coodawoodashooda · 12/10/2023 08:03

If you are in trouble then you need a new job.

minipie · 12/10/2023 08:04

No. If it was absolutely desperate they could’ve called.

Colleague may have stayed up even later through the night but is probably asleep during the early morning when you are awake from 6am.

I hope these hours are very short term? Good luck with the project.

FerretFarago · 12/10/2023 08:05

Woking time law you need a minimum 11 hours off between shifts, so if you finished at 11.30 pm should not start work until 12.30 pm next day (if not opted out)

enjoyingscience · 12/10/2023 08:05

This is a toxic situation, it is absolutely not normal to be expected to respond to emails in the middle of the night. If they want a finance person on 24 hour call they need to establish a rota and pay handsomely for the on call staff.

I’d be looking for a new job to be honest.

FerretFarago · 12/10/2023 08:06

Sorry 10.30 am start next day

WrongSwanson · 12/10/2023 08:07

It depends on the industry @szympli . Only you can know what the industry norm is. But yes they should have called you if they really needed you.

WrongSwanson · 12/10/2023 08:08

FerretFarago · 12/10/2023 08:05

Woking time law you need a minimum 11 hours off between shifts, so if you finished at 11.30 pm should not start work until 12.30 pm next day (if not opted out)

Many professions are opted out though .

IncomingTraffic · 12/10/2023 08:09

I’m hoping this question is your exhaustion talking and you’re worrying about nothing. Otherwise, your workplace culture is exploitative and toxic and you need a new job.

You shouldn’t need to work 6am-11.30pm. Something has gone dreadfully wrong if you’re having to do that. Nothing should be that urgent if the organisation is managed properly.

NoSquirrels · 12/10/2023 08:10

If there was even any hint of ‘being in trouble’ then I’d be livid. You’ve already worked overtime well into the night.

Is this a very new job/first job? You don’t sound sure of your rights & responsibilities.

MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 12/10/2023 08:10

This sounds like a manager I had, who'd wake up in the middle of the night and start firing off emails. I didn't work for her for very long.

If anything's said I'd point out the hours you worked and that you needed sleep. Is this some sort of high level finance project in which it's all hands on deck, like negotiating the putting together of a loan syndicate? because I can't think of any finance situation that needs you on 24 hour call.

Is colleague in the US/Pacific and thus in a different time zone?

ArtG · 12/10/2023 08:13

If you keep this up then one night you’ll fall asleep on your way home. You absolutely need to set boundaries on how late you’ll work and put an out of office response on your email every night saying you won’t be replying outside hours.

IncomingTraffic · 12/10/2023 08:14

WrongSwanson · 12/10/2023 08:07

It depends on the industry @szympli . Only you can know what the industry norm is. But yes they should have called you if they really needed you.

Any industry where someone would phone someone in the early hours only the morning about work stuff of this sort is toxic and dysfunctional.

Where there are genuine needs for people to be on call in that way, then proper arrangements should be made. And it shouldn’t be someone who has had to (unexpectedly) work 6am-11.30am on something that must be done urgently who is on call.

it doesn’t sound like anyone’s life or liberty was at risk in this situation. Just some piece of work that probably hadn’t been adequately resourced and/or properly planned so there was a last minute panic.

MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 12/10/2023 08:17

it doesn’t sound like anyone’s life or liberty was at risk in this situation. Just some piece of work that probably hadn’t been adequately resourced and/or properly planned so there was a last minute panic

I once had a CFO who wanted me to have a mobile so I was contactable out of hours. I pointed out that there's nothing about balance sheet analysis that's life threatening or an emergency. The above is much more likely.

I've had some useless managers.....😂

SecondUsername4me · 12/10/2023 08:18

Tbh I wouldn't even see the emails at that time as I refuse to have any work related stuff on my phone so wouldn't see them til I logged onto my laptop at 8/8.30.

Is it an expectation of your role that you are personally contactable 24 hours a day? If not then no, you certainly shouldn't be reprimanded.

MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 12/10/2023 08:21

Is it an expectation of your role that you are personally contactable 24 hours a day? If not then no, you certainly shouldn't be reprimanded

Like I said, I can't think of any finance role that demands someone is on call 24 hours a day as a matter of course.

CarolDunne · 12/10/2023 08:22

It depends on what your start time is.

Say 9am absolutely not in trouble

If 9pm yes you are in trouble

SisterMichaelsHabit · 12/10/2023 08:23

This sounds like the sort of thing my CEO does. She emails me at stupid o' clock. I ignore her until the morning when I'm back at work.

OP you need to set some boundaries, this way burnout lies.

SisterMichaelsHabit · 12/10/2023 08:23

CarolDunne · 12/10/2023 08:22

It depends on what your start time is.

Say 9am absolutely not in trouble

If 9pm yes you are in trouble

She said 9am in her OP.

IncomingTraffic · 12/10/2023 08:29

CarolDunne · 12/10/2023 08:22

It depends on what your start time is.

Say 9am absolutely not in trouble

If 9pm yes you are in trouble

She had been physically at work 9am-11.30pm the day before.

regardless what her official start time was, it’s ludicrous to complain she went to sleep - for less than 5 hours!

Also, anyone who is using email should know not to expect an immediate response. It’s the wrong channel for that. Well managed companies do not set expectations around immediate responses to email. Because that’s not what email is for.

MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 12/10/2023 08:31

CarolDunne · 12/10/2023 08:22

It depends on what your start time is.

Say 9am absolutely not in trouble

If 9pm yes you are in trouble

OP was asleep after working a nearly18 hour day and having about 6 hours sleep. If I was in trouble for not responding to overnight emails I'd be mentally telling the to stuff their job and looking for a new one.

Dragonsandcats · 12/10/2023 08:31

No you shouldn’t be in trouble. Email, as another poster said, doesn’t mean an immediate reply. What did they expect you to do when you got home? Sit up waiting for their queries!!

Dogfureverywhere · 12/10/2023 08:31

Your manager may choose to send out of hours emails but no reasonable manager would expect them to be read and answered until the next working day.
I used to work with global teams and instantaneous responses were not forthcoming from me until I was at my desk as I did not work in their timezones.

I set my OOO to come on each day when I left the office for one particular stalker UK manager to remind her of my working hours! 😉

IncomingTraffic · 12/10/2023 08:32

I can’t believe there are any responses at all that would try to insist that an employee could be wrong for not answering emails between 12.30am and 6am.

This isn’t a shift work job!

MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 12/10/2023 08:33

Emails are a curse. I long for the days when we used to contact overseas branches by telex .😅At least that gave us some breathing space.

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