Copyright news
Workplace expert Ben Askins has gained a cult following on social media by sharing anonymous text message exchanges between bosses and workers. Mr Askins shared a recent exchange in which a boss messaged a worker, demanding help even though the worker was on holiday. “What are you doing right now?” The boss texted. The boss then explained that he needed the employee, Jake, to drop some creative shots into a deck for an upcoming meeting with a client. “Jake I know you are off today but I really need this sorted before the meeting at 1. Where are the raw files?” The boss demanded. Jake replied even though he was on holidays and apologised for not getting back to his boss sooner. “Hey, sorry, I just got off the plane. The link to the raw files should be in my handover,” he wrote. Jake replied, even though he was on holiday, and apologised for not getting back to his boss sooner. “Hey, sorry, I just got off the plane. The link to the raw files should be in my handover,” he wrote. The boss replied that Jake had included a link to the photos in his handover, but he was unsure how to convert them. “Any chance you can just quickly do this?” The boss begged. “I’m literally just going through customs but Susan should be able to help with them if it is urgent,” Jake explained. The boss replied and said that the co-worker did not have access. “Let me know when you are through customs and I will give you a ring,” the boss said. Mr Askins slammed the boss harassing the worker on holidays and said, “It is never okay” to try to contact employees while they are on holidays. “I am sorry this is such budget leadership,” he said. “You can’t be running a business where everything just falls apart simply because one of your team had the gall to get on a plane and go on holiday!” Mr Askins said the behaviour from the boss was just straight-up not “good enough” and made it clear he was not impressed. Online, people were stunned by the exchange, but some were critical that the worker even replied to the boss. “What is wrong with these people? Why the need to respond to the rubbish that is sent to you?” One asked. Another said this is the perfect example of the “amount of pressure” corporate workers face and that people should always remember “work is work.” He added that work is not your problem once you are off the clock, and no one should “waste” their life responding to work texts outside of hours. Another shared that their CEO once called them while they were on vacation, and they were clear with their boundaries. “My response was very simple, if you need advice from me, then I need this day back completely. Credit me one day of vacation and I can respond,” the commentator said. “I totally don’t understand why people answer these things off the clock,” another said. “Honestly, if only there was an AI that could teach people how to respect boundaries,” someone else mused. While another worker said it was “standard” behaviour from a boss to “complain” even when you’ve done what they wanted already.
