Management demands 24/7 availability without extra pay for routine work that could wait until Monday, and pulls employee into meetings, criticizing his lack of responsiveness: ‘There’s no emergency, and no contract that says I owe them my free time’

An office job undergoes a sudden shift for the worse when management decides employees must be eternally available for non-urgent requests without pay, turning weekends into unpaid consultation hours nobody signed up for.  

What started as a normal clock-in-clock-out situation morphed into a lifestyle brand where personal time became company property. No contract change, no bonus, no actual emergencies, just vibes and entitlement dressed up as workplace culture. Management discovered they could text employees during family dinners and call it teamwork. Missing a Saturday message now counts as corporate betrayal, even though the thing needing attention could marinate until Tuesday without consequence. The beautiful irony lives in the meeting about responsiveness trends, as if attendance to imaginary crises deserves performance reviews.  

Companies love inventing obligations that cost them nothing. Calling it reachability instead of on-call means dodging compensation while harvesting free labor from guilt and fear. It is capitalism at its most efficient, getting workers to donate their lives without ever asking directly. The job wants total access but offers partial respect. Every text becomes a test of loyalty to a place that would replace anyone in a standard two-week window.  

Author image for Etai Eshet Etai Eshet
Add us on Google
Advertisement

Stay up to date by following us on Facebook!

Tags

management workplace discussion employment issues boss workplace-stories hr Horrible Bosses work-life balance
Scroll Down For The Next Article

Also From FAIL Blog

The Warner Bros. Acquisition Will Make Going to the Movies as Expensive as Going to the Theater

The Warner Bros. Acquisition Will Make Going to the Movies as Expensive as Going to the Theater

Trending Now

'I automated my job over a year ago and haven't told anyone': IT specialist spends all day playing video games after perfecting automated system for his entire job

'I automated my job over a year ago and haven't told anyone': IT specialist spends all day playing video games after perfecting automated system for his entire job

01
18-year-old high schooler boards flight alone, leaving mom, stepfather, and 3 and 6-year-old half-siblings behind: 'I was basically expected to take over my mom's part of the parenting'

18-year-old high schooler boards flight alone, leaving mom, stepfather, and 3 and 6-year-old half-siblings behind: 'I was basically expected to take over my mom's part of the parenting'

02
Job candidate arrives early for 10:00 AM interview, manager shows up 10 minutes late and blames it on the candidate: 'I don't know if I want to interview someone who's late'

Job candidate arrives early for 10:00 AM interview, manager shows up 10 minutes late and blames it on the candidate: 'I don't know if I want to interview someone who's late'

03
Finnish worker finishes working and quits restaurant job after being overworked during university exam week, then shuts down the boss’s guilt-tripping attempts: ‘I told boss it's my right to resign effective immediately’

Finnish worker finishes working and quits restaurant job after being overworked during university exam week, then shuts down the boss’s guilt-tripping attempts: ‘I told boss it's my right to resign effective immediately’

04
Manager faces HR backlash for unfairly "penalizing" a single mother, giving her a lower review and raise than her "flexible" male coworker, as he can work more after-hours and travel on short notice: 'They do equally good work, but he does more of it'

Manager faces HR backlash for unfairly "penalizing" a single mother, giving her a lower review and raise than her "flexible" male coworker, as he can work more after-hours and travel on short notice: 'They do equally good work, but he does more of it'

05
'I couldn’t believe the audacity': Woman running small business from home debates confronting employee who treats her home like a free buffet, going through her cupboards and taking snacks for home, but fears it will jeopardize their work relationship

'I couldn’t believe the audacity': Woman running small business from home debates confronting employee who treats her home like a free buffet, going through her cupboards and taking snacks for home, but fears it will jeopardize their work relationship

06
Advertisement