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?'

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.