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All too often, those after-hours emails turn into hours of effectively free labor for the employer, resulting in what amounts to a wage reduction - as well as a quality of life reduction - for the employee.
It would be a wage reduction for somebody not salaried. For somebody operating in a professional capacity like you're supposed to be for being salaried, it doesn't seem like a big deal.
Anyhow, I answer emails in the evening depending on the circumstances (how much time it will save me and others, sobriety level, how much the correspondent has pissed me off lately, etc.).
This is nothing but good. Not only does it improve the lives of existing employees, but forces employers to hire a night shift to address "problems" that just couldn't POSSIBLY wait until the next day.
When it comes to employee happiness it's better due to the laws, but their unemployment rate is several points higher than ours, the country is going broke, and you know most companies in the US will outsource even faster if they did that. Some places half of the tech team is in India, and if the leaders can't bother everyone at all times then they'll outsource it to Asia with looser laws.
Seems pretty unnecessary to me, counter productive in many cases.
Never heard of not checking one's email after working hours? Just don't do it if you don't want to. Don't use your work email for personal stuff and only check work email during working hours. I don't see the problem.
Perhaps we need the federal government to say "no" for us now? Maybe mom would give the boss a good talking to instead!
What is the problem you are referring to? Stepping up and taking advantage of an opportunity that others aren't willing to?
Quote:
Originally Posted by tairos
This is nothing but good. Not only does it improve the lives of existing employees, but forces employers to hire a night shift to address "problems" that just couldn't POSSIBLY wait until the next day.
Right - okay. So now what's good for me is being determined by someone else.
And no, it's not "nothing but good". There are those that enjoy the flexibility of setting their own schedules. I like to be able to take a two-hour lunch, run errands in the morning, meet friends for breakfast, get work done in the evening should I chose to. I enjoy that freedom.
I understand the issue with those that abuse other's time. But this isn't a solution, it simply exchanges one problem with another. Invariably, someone is still going to lose out (and I don't mean the employers).
Oh and by the way - forcing the employer to hire more people may result in you losing part of your job. So if you enjoy being underworked, I guess things will work out.
I see checking work emails after hours as a fair trade off for not having to be in the office to do my job, I find that there are times that just reading, responding, or just forwarding an email can make up for me not being in the office. i understand that it is not an option for all positions or industries but for some of us it can make things easier
Seriously if you don't want to deal with work stuff after hours turn your phone off or screen your calls.
Yes. Or IT or other jobs where you may be on call in case of outages, working late because of a deployment, etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by davenj08
Dumb idea! Ever heard of global teams? It is always day somewhere in the world! I personally work with teams spread across Asia, EMEA and Americas and quick emails are exchanged around the clock to be efficient. No one asks me to check my emails at 7am in my way to work, or at 11pm before I go to bed, but I do because I know 5 minutes of my time answering a quick question can save half a day for a team in Asia or EU.
This too. I do the same, and appreciate it when the teams in Asia, EMEA, etc return the favor.
Dumb idea! Ever heard of global teams? It is always day somewhere in the world! I personally work with teams spread across Asia, EMEA and Americas and quick emails are exchanged around the clock to be efficient. No one asks me to check my emails at 7am in my way to work, or at 11pm before I go to bed, but I do because I know 5 minutes of my time answering a quick question can save half a day for a team in Asia or EU.
Exactly, I am in the same boat - coworkers in both Asia and Europe. Multinationalism is the reality. I had a meeting at 2AM last week. At other times I may be the person in Asia for business travel answering local email at 2am for my US collegues. It's just part of the job. At the same time, I may take a sunny afternoon off so that it equals out somewhat. People live in another work world it seems...I guess they can limit this to the hourly wage transactional workers who have little impact. Sadly, those jobs are becoming obsolete or downgraded more and more.
For the rest - this is just unrealistic.
As a salaried employee at a fast-paced environment, I make sure to check my email at night before I go to sleep. I don't enjoy it and don't plan on staying here for much longer.
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