Do you remember what the end of a workday looked like? Or a weekend, for that matter? Back in the recesses of my mind, I have a vague recollection.
You would switch off your computer at 5, leave the office and not think of work till the following day or Monday. Your employers, too, would go home and attempt to have a life outside the four walls of their place of work.
No one would dream of contacting you and you could do mythical things like taking an undisturbed walk. If you were really lucky, you would even be able to stare at the ceiling for 15 minutes without something demanding your attention.
I don’t know when work became an insatiable beast, but somewhere between the e-mails, the multiple ways to reach someone immediately at all hours and a pandemic that continued to blur the already hazy lines between home and work, we have been forced to forget what it means to be able to rest.
You are not only perpetually expected to be on call and ready to answer the most mundane of messages whether you’re in the shower or walking the dog, but what’s more, if you don’t manage to keep up with the endless cycle, people take offence.
Just last week, I had a lot on my plate and didn’t answer an e-mail for a couple of days because I wasn’t checking my inbox. Within a few hours that the e-mail was sent, the sender had already sent a follow-up e-mail and another one the morning after.
By the time I realised I had a string of monologues to answer, my anxiety which used to be non-existent, was through the roof. I was also angry that I had been put in this position in the first place. Isn’t my life my own? Shouldn’t I have the right to be able to not check my e-mail every day without people sending a search party after me? And why are people sending work-related e-mails over the weekend anyway? Aren’t they as tired and fed up as I am? I’d like to say that this was an isolated incident but I’ve been seeing a trend in the past couple of years and I don’t like it one bit.
Employers need to get back to a place where boundaries are respected instead of continuously tested- Anna Marie Galea
The reality is that the more people continue to allow their personal time to be encroached on, the greater the expectation of managers and employers for their workers to be on duty day and night. What’s even more disgusting is I’ve heard people who put their foot down being called lazy or unmotivated when all many are trying to do is spend some quality time with their families.
Even more of a negative attitude is shown if the person contacting you knows that you don’t have children.
Apparently, you don’t need any rest if you’re providing for four cats and not a demanding child or two.
The truth is that there are very few jobs where urgent replies or responses are required, and to be honest if you’re e-mailing someone, it is hardly a life-or-death situation to begin with. No office will burn down if you file a paper on Monday instead of Friday, and employers need to get back to a place where boundaries are respected instead of continuously tested.
If there’s anything that the job market has taught me, it’s that everyone is replaceable. Do you know who you’re not expendable to, though? Your loved ones. This Easter, put down your phone.