Being on 24/7!

7 Comments

1. Stephanie TrevinoSeptember 17,2021 at 5:50PM UTC

   Make it your standard practice and don't deviate. If someone mentions in passing "I will send you this tonight" the right response is "Great, I will have a look in the morning" The key is consistency.

2. Susan RoblesSeptember 23,2021 at 4:44PM UTC

   Stephanie, this is great, useable advice. Thanks!

3. AnonymousSeptember 17,2021 at 7:02PM UTC

   Unless they pay you 24/7, you aren't available 24/7. We need work/life balance an believe me, if you dropped dead tomorrow they wouldn't have any hesitation replacing you.

4. AnonymousSeptember 17,2021 at 8:08PM UTC

   You set your own boundaries. If you allow someone else to dictionary them for you the you really don't have them.

   It's vital and must be enforced. If you don't enforce then no one else will.

5. Meaghan Wagner, Goal Guru Leadership CoachSeptember 21,2021 at 10:21PM UTC

   A lot of folks struggle with these conversations with their bosses -- many of my clients included! -- so you're not alone in feeling stressed in this way.

   My best advice here is to approach your boss like a collaborator in this conversation, not an adversary. So many people I work with stress over putting up and enforcing boundaries with their work because they assume it is going to be a fight, but it almost never is (and when it is, that's a really good red flag that it's time to make exit maneuvers).

   Before approaching our boss, start with what you'd like your 'off' hours to be -- it sounds like being 'offline except for emergency from 7pm-7am' is where you'd like things to be, which is perfectly reasonable! (Arguably generous!)

   From there define how you'd like to be contacted in case of an emergency (sounds like text message), and then come up with 3 examples of what IS an emergency and 3 examples of what is NOT one.

   With this ground work in mind, ask for a status meeting with your boss to talk about it. Begin the conversation with some context; let them know you're feeling pressure to be on your email out of work hours and it's detracting from your life outside of work and making engaging *at* work more challenging as well. Note: This is an important step to clarify how you *feel,* NOT to take time blaming the company or particular coworker for those feelings. There's a time and place for that convo, but it's not here!

   From there, turn to the out of office boundaries you have in mind. Share it with your boss as a potential solution to this problem of your stress, and ask for their thoughts and feedback, inviting them to be part of the process. Does any of this sound unreasonable or unenforceable? How would you[bossperson] strengthen this?

   And finally, ask them if they can support you in implementing that plan -- that might look like supporting you in communicating it to your team, or being willing to intercede when someone else violates those boundaries, or it might be as simple as using the "schedule send" on their emails to you, or making email subjects "NO ACTION NEEDED: [Subject]" on emails after 7pm.

   Regardless, I know this is an intimidating thing to talk about but really this is such a good chance to build your relationship with your boss and enlist them as a person invested in supporting your career!

6. Michelle Dottore-LasureSeptember 23,2021 at 1:40PM UTC

   I have been in this position many times in the last year! It is very tough to strike a work-life balance when your boss works 24/7, and has no boundaries regarding your personal time. I have often gotten calls/pings late at night, on weekends, or during vacation. It is often easy to fall into the trap of feeling guilty, but know that your time off is just as important as your time at work! We need that time to recharge, so we can bring our A-game to the office every day. Start by setting up working hours on your calendar; most applications have this functionality in the Settings area. Then, at your next meeting with your boss, point out that you set up working hours so you can make sure that you aren't called into a meeting after hours. You don't have to point out that this was specifically for him; you may just mention something about working across time zones (if that is the case) and often get pinged after hours. In addition, watch how you respond to requests for work from your boss. Don't say, "I'll get this to you right away" if it is after hours. Tell him you will take care of it when you are back at your desk tomorrow morning. Hopefully, he will get the hint! Good luck!

7. Kristen WavleSeptember 27,2021 at 4:41PM UTC

   I have actually had this conversation with my employers. Due to a health situation, I need downtime after work. Some issues (crises) cannot be avoided, and they know to call me. If I check my email or texts after work, it's up to me. I prefer being able to "unplug" at night or on the weekends. It's healthier for me, both mentally and physically. Perhaps you could check your employee handbook for expectations and use that when having a conversation with your boss?