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    Manager tells $14/hr employee that 'your personal life shouldn't interfere with your availability' after they decline a last-minute Saturday shift

    Should you keep your schedule clear just in case you get called in?

    Our personal lives and our work lives can be tough to balance. Odds are, we spend much more time at work than we do anywhere else, except maybe our beds. Don't think about that too hard, or else you'll get upset. But the point stands. You sacrifice so much of your time for your work, you probably don't want to give more than is necessary. Because you know if the tables were turned, they probably wouldn't drop everything to help you. So why should you do that for them? Sure, you want to pitch in where you can, but you don't want to end up in a situation where you're giving your time to something that doesn't benefit you. 

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    • An irritated woman talks on the phone
      via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

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

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    • My manager actually said "your personal life shouldn't interfere with your availability" after I declined a last minute Saturday shift.

      For context I put in my availability when I got hired, weekdays only, it was agreed upon, in writing. Eight months later my manager texts me Friday night asking me to come in Saturday because someone called out. I said no. Politely. Had plans with family I hadn't seen in months.
      via Sensitive-Pen4002
    • She literally responded with "I hope you understand this reflects on how serious you take this job" I make $14 an hour stocking shelves. I have been here long enough to know that saying yes every single time never once led to a raise, a thank you, nothing. So I just replied "understood" and continued playing on my phone.
      via Sensitive-Pen4002
    • The audacity to frame MY boundaries as a character flaw is something I will never get over. These people genuinely believe they own you the moment they hand you a name tag
      via Sensitive-Pen4002
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    • Commenters gave their advice and perspective.

      SierraStar7 Don't ever respond to after-hours communication from work. If they ask why you didn't respond, tell them you didn't have your phone. If they try to buy you into responding going forward, ask them if your schedule is changing to on-call & how much is the pay differential for being on-call. Watch them flounder & stammer that they don't have on-call or pay for it. Let them know when they do, you'll be happy to keep your phone with you going forward. Continue to not respond to after- hou
      via SierraStar7

    • Sometimes it hurts to set boundaries, but you need to do so in order to protect yourself. Maybe that means not answering your work phone after a certain hour, even if that means purposefully missing work messages. Maybe it means notifying your manager about your schedule ahead of time so they know not to bother you outside of that. But in the working world, things come up, and you might be asked to drop everything and cover a shift. But as the saying goes, “poor planning on your end does not constitute an emergency on mine.” So just because someone else can't make it to work doesn't mean that you have to go out of your way to ameliorate that. You're allowed to say no whenever you want, and you don't need a good reason for it. Because your life is important, and you are allowed to keep plans that make you happy. You are allowed to prioritize time with family and friends over work. It may have some ramifications in your work life, but the best managers know how to keep their employees living balanced, healthy lives that aren't completely dedicated to work. It's not how you get the best output out of people anyway. Keep reading this story, though, to see what happened and see what commenters had to say.

    • BxAnnie Act your wage.
      via BxAnnie
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    • darkage_raven You can only take $14/h so seriously. If you want serious that starts near $26.50.
      via darkage_raven
    • A young woman looks at her phone, frustrated
      via Vitaly Gariev

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

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    • GTS_84 Oh no, with an attitude like this you won't be considered for some supervisor position that pays maybe $3 an hour more and comes with twice the work and five times the headaches. /s
      via GTS_84
    • Green-Inkling retort by saying "work should not interfere with personal life."
      via Green-Inkling
    • blackstafflo Your only error was to give details. "Sorry I'm not available." is enough.
      via blackstafflo
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    • Cottager_Northeast "Your lack of management skill shouldn't interfere with my personal life when I'm off the clock and wasn't scheduled ahead of time."
      via Cottager_Northeast
    • SleepingToDreaming "Allow me to make this clear to you; when I am on the clock, you can talk to me in your mangerial capacity and go over schedules. However, when I am off the clock, I will be unavailable and you will not address me at all."
      via SleepingToDreaming
    • der_innkeeper "I hope you understand that you pay me $14/hr."
      via der_innkeeper
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    • - Billiam201 "I've been working since I was 14. I've never called in sick, and I haven't taken a vacation since the Bush Administration. I always put work first, and that's why I'm so successful. And I'll be working until im 90 because none of my 7 kids or 3 ex-wives will talk to me, and the alimony is enough to choke a horse." Every boomer boss that expects you to drop literally everything for his starvation-wage job.
      via Billiam201

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    boss antiwork job coworkers working toxic-boss workplace toxic-work-environment
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