Over the past decades, our work has entered deeper and deeper into our lives. Email, smartphones, and expansive intranets have made it much easier to stay connected to our jobs even when we’re not physically there. This can be great for people who don’t want to rot in traffic jams and for companies that are disappointed with the size of the local talent pool.

However, the downside is that it can interfere with parts of our day we’d rather keep private—like doctor appointments. A few days ago, Reddit user Changeurblinkerfluid uploaded a story on r/traumatizeThemBack about an annoying colleague who insisted on calling him despite the clear out-of-office alerts. So, he answered and turned the camera on at the oncologist’s to make sure the guy realized what he was doing. And it was effective!

When this employee accompanied his wife to her cancer treatment appointment, he set a clear out-of-office alert at work

Image credits: Tiger Lily (not the actual photo)

However, one colleague from the sales department didn’t care about it

Image credits: Tima Miroshnichenko (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Changeurblinkerfluid

Many of us remain “on demand” outside of our work hours

In other countries, the numbers might be different, but in the United States, people are often on their corporate emails and messages when they’re off the clock.

According to a survey by Zimbra and OnePoll of 2,000 office employees, 70 percent are okay with receiving work notifications at any hour of the day. Maybe this also explains why the average person answers work emails 12 minutes faster than personal ones.

When asked to name their ideal schedule, respondents provided a variety of arrangements, like working “remotely with full flexibility of my work,” “whenever I want to meet my production,” or as specific as “8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday.”

They stay connected during their free time to feel good about being on top of their responsibilities (48 percent), because they’re hoping to move up within the company (47 percent), or because they don’t like leaving things unfinished (45 percent).

Because of this, it’s vital to maintain boundaries. Luckily, the majority seem to manage and don’t view their additional effort as a sacrifice. Seventy-two percent still rate their work-life balance as either “good” or “excellent.”

Sadly, though, a 2024 poll of almost 3,000 employees discovered that irritating colleagues are even more common.  Its numbers showed that 85% of people have dealt with an annoying coworker, with 58% saying their behaviors significantly affect their productivity. The research categorized five main groups:

• Credit Stealer (33%);
• Micromanager (32%);
• Chronic Complainer (30%);
• Personal Space Intruder (30);
• Lunch Thief (27%).

As we can see, the salesperson belongs to the list as well. Hopefully, for both his and his company’s sake, he can improve.

As the story went viral, it has received a lot of different reactions

Some people also shared their own similar experiences

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