Worker feels guilty for not checking Slack at work, snaps out of it and realizes they've been conditioned

Author image for JR Atkinson
JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Apr 24, 2026 9:00 PM EDT

Do you feel like you're on the clock even when you're not?

It's not a good feeling to feel like you're on the hook for something. You want to feel like you're free to do what you need to do when you can do it. And you want to be able to put it all away when you need to. Your free time is your free time, and you would hate to feel like it's being co-opted by someone else. You know the feeling. You're with your friends, but you're thinking about something else. Maybe it's a work problem, maybe it's something your boss said, or maybe it's the fear that you'll be hounded for something past your working hours. 

When you start a job, you probably want to at least appear flexible. You decide on regular working hours, but you try to do your best to be available when you need them. But this is a slippery slope. You don't want to be on call all the time, or else they'll get used to it and it will never end. And then before you know it, you've spent months without mental rest because you're always waiting for the next task. It can start innocently and spiral way out of control. That's what happened here, where one worker had a moment of clarity at a dinner with their friends. They quickly realized that something needed to change. 

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  • 01
    A woman sits at a table and checks her phone
    via wilson montoya

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

  • 02

    My job expects me to be 'always on' and I just realized something horrifying.

    I was eating dinner last night- actual food, at an actual table, like a human and I felt GUILTY for not checking Slack. Not because anything was on fire. Not because anyone messaged me. Just because... what if they needed me? What if something happened in the 47 minutes I spent being a person?
    via Codie_n25
  • 03
    I've been conditioned like a dog. Except the dog at least gets a treat. We normalized this. We just fully normalized the idea that employers own every waking moment of your life, and the audacity to eat dinner without your phone is somehow a moral failing.
    via Codie_n25
  • 04
    I'm not 'always on.' I'm always tired. There's a difference.
    via Codie_n25
  • 05

    Commenters agreed that there was a different way around this.

    Spaghetti Wester... Unless you're paid a ton to always be available it can wait until the next day. Even if they message you, don't even look at it.
    via SpaghettiWestern2162
  • 06
    Phillyphil956 once 5 oclock hits, thats it.
    via Phillyphil956
  • 07
    With HeavenOnTop Man what the f_?? LOG OUT of slack at 5:00PM. You aren't paid for a second after 5:01PM. I'll see your message at my start time which is 8AM when I LOG INTO slack.
    via WithHeavenOnTop
  • 08
    If someone is d ng yall have my phone number. But f... no. I was on call for 8 hours all day aka at work. I'm not doing it all night too. treat it like you would at an office where you would leave a computer each day. There is no getting a hold of me.
    via WithHeavenOnTop

  • Sometimes these moments happen upon us, like they're a sign from a higher power. These are the ah-ha moments, where you zoom out and realize that something needs to change. You didn't ask to have a revelation, but you did. These can be powerful forces in our lives, and we should heed them when they come our way. That's what happened here, where a worker realized they were in a bad situation and needed a way out of it. Keep scrolling to read all the details of this story and see what you think about it.

  • 09
    Vast-Philosopher... Omg this was me for 7 years. But instead of slack - it was my phone. I was receiving texts, emails, phone calls allll the time from my team as I was the sole admin. I would even take my phone to the washroom with me, I would check it as soon as I stepped out of the shower, it would literally be with me 24/7.
    via Vast-Philosopher-330
  • 10
    I was expected to be working 24/7 (or at least from the minute my team of 7 woke up to until they went to sleep lol). Weekdays, weekends, holidays, vacations everything. I got let go as of April 1st as I was putting up bounderies, and refused to make the 2
    via Vast-Philosopher-330
  • 11
    hour commute daily to the office. To sit in an office alone - while the whole team worked remotely. Made perfect sense. I knew they were just looking for an excuse to get rid of me. Anyways it's NEVER worth - it. They will not appreciate it.
    via Vast-Philosopher-330
  • 12
    A woman looks stressed at the dinner table
    via Unsplash+ (Karolina Grabowska)

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

  • 13
    They will not say wow " she really went above and beyond for us". And you're right - whenever they say it's urgent or need it asap... It is 99% never an emergency. Put up the bounderies NOW
    via Vast-Philosopher-330
  • 14
    ArdFarkable We? Speak for yourself. We don't let employers bother us during personal time.
    via ArdFarkable
  • 15
    Zestyclose-Ring7... what if they needed me? What if something happened in the 47 minutes I spent being a person? This hit me like a sledge.
    via Zestyclose-Ring7303
  • 16
    GailaMonster This is why employers are salivating at the idea of All replacing workers. 24/7 job- doing, no corporeal needs, no family, no getting sick, no talking back, no moral conscience, no burnout, no resentment, just ai sycophancy.
    via GailaMonster
  • 17
    Madea_onFire My boss tried that. They stopped after I started reporting those hours to be paid. They literally had to pay me by law. No one asks me to be on call anymore
    via Madea_onFire
  • 18
    megxrawr Deleted slack and my work email off my phone for this very reason. F jobs lol our day
    via megxrawr
  • 19
    squirrel-phone Why are you looking at your work phone at dinner time? Unless you meant it is on your personal phone. In that case, step on your Time Machine, go back to when you did that, and never put work apps on your personal phone. At the end of my
    via squirrel-phone
  • 20
    work day, my phone ringer gets turned off and my work phone gets put away, not to be looked at until the next morning. You need to set up your own boundaries and stick to them.
    via squirrel-phone
  • 21
    ClintSlunt Slack has a "set yourself to away" and "pause notifications" functionality. I use them everyday. If I'm so important to be needed to work more than 40 hours a week, it needs to show up in my pay. Make my pay $2,500,000 USD per year, you can call me any time boss!
    via ClintSlunt
  • 22
    unxplaindbacn When I interviewed for my current job, I made it clear that I wasn't willing to do that and wasn't willing to install Teams on my phone. I know I got lucky that they're fine with it. I'll work off hours of needed (like, say a meeting with someone in India so I have to be online really early or late) but I'm not on call. I'm not a doctor, none of this is important.
    via unxplaindbacn
  • 23
    I_am_so_lost_ag... When I was on Salary, I would only answer emails or messages until 6pm, after that it was emergencies only because I had a second shift and the supervisor knew how to get a hold of me if he needed it.
    via I_am_so_lost_ag
  • 24
    Every once in a while I'd answer certain people later then 6pm but it was only for the "we've got to get this in from over seas and this is the only time we can get them" issues. Set boundaries and hold yourself to it. If you can, get a 2nd phone just for work so you can turn it off. Work/life balance is so important.
    via I_am_so_lost_ag
  • 25
    johnnymac_19 I think about work when I walk in the door. I forget about work when I open that door to leave. You have me for 8 hours everyday Monday-Friday. If you send me a message before my work day or after, I won't respond.
    via johnnymac_19
  • 26
    VladimiroPudding Oh yeah, I had this hitting me as well several years ago. I developed an anxiety to Slack sounds even. That anxiety feeling to have to be "always on" and not fully enjoying your life. Your head is always at work.
    via VladimiroPudding
  • 27
    I solved this by plausible deniability. "I didn't check the phone until 8am in the next morning, Susan, sorry" (by the way, a bunch of people do that).
    via VladimiroPudding

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boss antiwork workplace-stories toxic-workplace job coworkers working toxic-boss workplace
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