For those of us who use email as part of our job’s nature, it can be a blessing and a curse. On one hand, you can respond to a client’s demands in due time. However, this comes with the expectation to be on alert 24/7 if you don’t want to appear like a complete slacker.

In her post on r/TrueOffMyChest, user InevitablePain21 shared a cautionary tale from her vacation experience. While she was away, a majority of her team unexpectedly called in sick, leaving her as the sole point of contact for clients. “It was crazy,” the OP remarked. It was during this particular weekend that she was bombarded by a self-centric client who showed no regard for the fact that she was on vacation or that it was a weekend already. And while we won’t spoil what chaos ensues next, there’s one thing for certain: the world needs more bosses who will choose their employees over needy clients any day or night.

The world is full of entitled customers who don’t give a darn if you’re on maternity leave or on vacation

Image credits: Anna Shvets (not the actual photo)

When this vacationing employee became responsible for satisfying the needs of a self-centered client, it couldn’t go any other way than this

Image credits: RDNE Stock project (not the actual photo)

Image source: InevitablePain21

After-work email checking has become a factor in the rise of the ‘burnout generation‘

While it’s true that the pandemic has made everyone’s bosses reconsider that office hours don’t necessarily mean productivity – even resulting in a plethora of op-eds about the anticipation of 4-day work weeks – it also has blurred the line between personal life and work.

In 2015, for example, it was estimated that an average worker in the US spends around 6.3 hours (or three The Avengers films on average) checking emails each day, half of the time dedicated to business emails, even after clocking out. 44% adults surveyed by the American Psychological Association, reported that they check work emails daily while on vacation — about 1 in 10 checked it hourly. Talk about hustle.

While occasional email check-ins may be acceptable for those who get a kick from it, the pervasive “hustle culture”, as it is often called, can often lead to detrimental outcomes. As a 2022 study revealed last year, a staggering 77% of individuals have encountered burnout in their jobs, with 42% even choosing to leave their positions due to experiencing this overwhelming stress caused by excessive hours and impractical expectations fostered by the toxic aspects of hustle culture. No surprise, then, that the rates of burnout are steadily on the rise, according to new research from Future Forum.

Turns out, checking email into the wee hours affects not only our mental health but that of those closest to us

Nothing can ruin a getaway trip or chill weekend evening like an unexpected email from your manager. However, in France, a labor law amendment states that if a company has 50 or more employees, it is prohibited to send work-related emails to workers outside of regular working hours, making the residents of its Western contemporaries drool in jealousy.

The subject at hand is undeniably complex and has been the focal point of William J. Becker, co-author of the ‘Exhausted, but Unable to Disconnect’ study, for nearly a decade. According to Becker, their findings indicate that individuals tend to interpret after-work emails in a more negative light. “Basically what we found is that people always read more negatively into what they received [after work]. Particularly if they didn’t have a great relationship with their supervisor, they would read them much more negatively,” Becker explained to Bored Panda via Zoom.

It appears that after-work emails not only impact our long-term mental well-being but also affect our significant others, according to Becker’s findings. “The more expectations and the more after-work behaviors there were, spouses reported that as being a ‘very negative’ and a bigger effect on their marital satisfaction or relationship satisfaction,” he said, noting that couples who didn’t engage in email checking into the wee hours fared much better in comparison.

If there’s one thing people took from OP’s story, it’s that the world needs more bosses who are ready to stand up for their employees

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