Boss asks employee why she didn't respond to the message he sent at 10 PM on a Tuesday: 'When did we all agree that being available 24/7 was normal?'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
Feb 26, 2026 8:00 PM EST

Why would she be checking her Slack at 10 PM?

Being a salaried employee can be a double-edged sword. It's great to know exactly how much money you'll make each month so you can budget accordingly. You don't have to make a time sheet to tell your boss exactly when you're clocking in and out. You don't have to worry about making less money on days you take off. At the same time, you might make less than an hourly employee, depending on how much you actually have to work. Most salaried employees do not get overtime pay. They might work from 10 AM to 10 PM one day and make the same amount of money as on a day they work from 10 AM to 6 PM. Whether a salaried employee is expected to work outside of the designated workday is entirely up to the employer. You may not like it, but if you have a salaried job, you can expect to work overtime without receiving overtime pay.

In an ideal world, recruiters would tell job seekers if they're expected to work outside of the workday, but we all know that doesn't always happen. Some employers will be very ambiguous about whether they actually expect employees to work outside of 9-5 hours. They will linger around the office for a couple of hours, but they won't be clear about whether they want their employees to do the same. Clarity can be hard to come by in some professional settings.

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  • A man sitting at a table using a laptop computer
    via Ahmet Kurt (Unsplash+)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • The employee in this story was baffled when her boss asked why she didn't respond to the Slack message he sent her at 10 PM. For all he knows, she could've been sound asleep at that hour! Why would she respond to a message that late if she didn't know she was expected to?

  • My boss asked why I wasn't responding to Slack at 10 PM on a Tuesday

    Got a message this morning like "hey saw you didn't respond to my message last night, everything ok?" Yeah everything's fine I was just...
    via u/Mindless_Cook7821
  • not working? because it was 10pm on a tuesday? When did we all agree that being available 24/7 was normal I'm salary but that doesn't mean I'm on call
    via u/Mindless_Cook7821
  • wideawake999 That would be a question for himself: hey I saw you messaging your employees when they are sleeping at night, are you ok?
    via u/wideawake999
  • lelawes "I was already asleep." Use it every time. Even if it was 30 minutes after you stopped working.
    via u/lelawes
  • agileliecom The "everything ok?" thing is what kills me about this. They're not asking if you're ok, they're letting you know they noticed. It's a guilt trip disguised as concern. I had a manager who used to do this, teams messages at 11pm then a casual "did you see my message" first thing in the morning. I started replying at 9am every time with zero acknowledgment that it was sent late. Eventually he stopped, but he shouldn't have been doing it in the first place. Salary doesn't mean on call I
    via u/agileliecom
  • Overall-Lynx917 "No, I had an awful night. I just couldn't sleep because some prat kept messaging me while I was in bed"
    via u/Overall-Lynx917
  • A woman laying on a bed with white sheets
    via Giorgio Trovato

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • beslertron So glad my country has a right to unplug law. In my last job out outlook even had a window asking if you'd like to send an email during working hours if you were writing an email after 5:01.
    via u/beslertron
  • Important-Ability-56 It is actually shocking how the people who get promoted to "lead" other people are often below- average at handling their own. emotions and immediate reactions. I wouldn't believe this is real if my own situation didn't involve absolute personality freaks as bosses. Of course us grunt workers are supposed to be stoic at all times.
    via u/Important-Ability-56
  • DLS3141 A good leader would set a boundary and tell his employees, "I might send you a message after hours, but you aren't expected to reply until the next work day." I've had late night meetings with overseas teams that necessitated follow up emails to local coworkers. I usually do these right after the meeting because otherwise, I would probably forget to send them so I do it immediately. I try to use scheduled delivery, but I don't always remember. When I've received messages like this from m
    via u/DLS3141
  • librijen Unless I am ON CALL and being paid as such, my phone goes to do not disturb at 8pm.
    via u/librijen
  • A person holding a cell phone in their hand
    via Elijah Fox

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • damn_dameron My employment contract was predicted on a 40-hour work week. Would you want to renegotiate the terms of my employment. I would be happy to renegotiate something that would properly compensate for the additional availability you're looking for.
    via u/damn_dameron
  • flyingwingbat1 "Hey boss, you didn't respond to the question I sent you at 3 AM later that night, as I needed. important clarification on one of my assigned tasks. Is everything ok?"
    via u/flyingwingbat1

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salary boss employee text message late night work slack on call night sleeping
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