For people working a regular 9 to 5, or at least for those not working on weekends, the two days at the end of the week tend to feel like a breath of fresh air. It’s their time to unwind, relax, and—in the best-case scenario—forget all about work.
But some employers, like the one in this redditor’s story, don’t care much about people’s free time. In their post for the ‘Recruiting Hell’ community, the OP shared that they lost a job before even starting, all because they didn’t reply to the new employer’s message on a Saturday. Scroll down to find the full story below.
Scroll down to find the full story below, where you will also find Bored Panda’s interviews with the OP themselves and a start-up growth coach and an award-winning expert in human resources, Daneal Charney, who was kind enough to answer a few of our questions on messaging employees during their time off work.
Many people receive messages from their superiors on weekends, and this netizen was no exception
Image credits: nostalgicflame
They were out of a job because they didn’t reply to the employer’s message on Saturday
Image credits: freepik (not the actual photo)
Image credits: nostalgicflame
“I at least expected some amount of consideration for me having a life outside of work,” the OP told Bored Panda
Image credits: rawpixel.com / freepik (not the actual photo)
Discussing the situation with Bored Panda, the OP said that it’s lack of consideration that upset them the most. “What was most upsetting was that I felt like I wasn’t given a reasonable amount of time to respond back. It’s like they could not even consider a reason for why I might not have been able to reply back right away in a single evening. It just felt highly inconsiderate, and I feel like I would’ve ended up working for an overbearing boss.
“I don’t specifically have rules about work-life balance, but I at least expected some amount of consideration for me having a life outside of work, as I was busy with urgent family matters that day and I hadn’t remembered to reply back that night,” they added.
The redditor shared that they replied to the manager’s message, but never heard back from them again. “I sent a text back along the lines of, ‘I find this to be inappropriate workplace behavior and am no longer interested in the position’ (not exact message). I have not received anything back since then.”
Few people want to be bothered with work stuff after the workday is done
Image credits: ansiia / freepik (not the actual photo)
It’s safe to assume that once the workday is done, few people enjoy thinking about work-related matters. Arguably, even fewer want to be bothered with emails or phone calls regarding work. But some superiors don’t care much about their employees’ free time and disturb them nevertheless; and quite often, with something that could have definitely waited until the next workday.
According to a human resources expert, Daneal Charney—and some of the netizens who shared their opinion under the OP’s post—an employer messaging a worker on a weekend can be a red flag. “If an employer wants you to respond to non-urgent work or email on the weekend, it may be a warning sign of things to come,” she told Bored Panda in a recent interview.
“It is ok for employers to contact employees over the weekend in emergency [cases] or exceptional situations which should be defined. Some industries or functions also have a more on-call nature. [But] there is technology to schedule when an email goes out so there is no reason to disrupt an employee’s weekend,” Charney noted.
“Defining how you respect employees’ life outside work and having a ‘right to disconnect’ policy is important to attracting and keeping top talent,” expert says
Image credits: freepik (not the actual photo)
Despite it being frowned upon, many superiors try to get in touch with their employees during their time off work. But in some countries, including France, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, Ireland, and Italy, such impatient employers can’t do much if the employees don’t pick up their phone or answer their email. In these countries, employed individuals have the “right to disconnect” from work, meaning that they can’t be punished for not responding outside of work hours. (As of August, 2024, Australia was on the list, too, CNBC reports.)
In some cultures, though, employees working outside of their working hours is not only okay, but it’s encouraged. “The Hero Culture and The Presenteeism Culture are two cultures that I have experienced first hand which should give any job candidate pause,” Daneal Charney told Bored Panda, discussing such an arguably toxic culture.
The expert explained that the former is a culture where leaders and employees seem to thrive on chaos and being the one to save the day. “This firefighting culture does not respect the boundary between work and life and praises the heroes who work all through the night or weekend.
“The Presenteeism Culture is a place where leaders recognize people who are always there at their desk, show up for every event, and talk the most during meetings. Facetime or physical presence is more important than output or outcomes,” Charney continued. “Literally just do your time (show up in core hours) and you’ll get rewarded. The employee who isn’t as responsive may be seen as not a ‘team player’. Employees who are parents and from the ‘sandwich generation’ may get unduly punished in this culture.”
Charney added that flexibility has become the number one thing employees look for in an employer. “Since Covid the social contract between employees and employers have shifted and employees are ‘just not that into you’,” she said. “As a result, defining how you respect employees’ life outside work and having a ‘right to disconnect’ policy is important to attracting and keeping top talent.”
It didn’t seem that the OP’s new employer cared much for their right to disconnect on a weekend, which some netizens believed to be a red flag. Some others, however, suggested that it would have taken the redditor a minute to message them back and avoid the unpleasant situation altogether. Both sides shared their thoughts in the comments.
Fellow netizens shared their thoughts on the situation in the comments
