Answering work emails on the weekend

[Gonzo]

Does anyone else do this? Work-free weekends are sacred to me and to this point I've refused to engage with my inbox until Monday. But now I'm spending a lot of my Mondays catching up on weekend emails. Not from my coworkers but from external clients, etc. Is there any solution or is this just how it is?

Depends where you are in your career. If you're a younger guy, just respond to a few, the easy ones, especially if your superiors are CC'd. They'll see that you're putting time in on the weekends, and it won't take too much time or effort away from your weekend. If you're a little older and more established in your career without the need to impress people that way, don't bother.

 

[cyIclSoneU]

Would be useful for people to share the industry they are in. If you are in finance or law in NYC you are answering work emails within a few minutes at pretty much all times of day or night, seven days a week, or you won't have your job for long.

 

[Cyclonepride]

Almost always answer them. Just became a habit due to the fact that it helped me keep up when I was super busy.

 

[Gonzo]

Would be useful for people to share the industry they are in. If you are in finance or law in NYC you are answering work emails within a few minutes at pretty much all times of day or night, seven days a week, or you won't have your job for long.

Willing to bet there isn't a huge % of finance/law guys in Manhattan posting on CF daily. Could be wrong.

 

[1UNI2ISU]

All notifications get turned off when I leave the office on Friday, there are very, very few things in my world that can't wait a day or two. Being salaried doesn't mean they own ALL my time.

Insurance, fwiw...

 

[trevn]

Willing to bet there isn't a huge % of finance/law guys in Manhattan posting on CF daily. Could be wrong.

You must be new here.

 

[trevn]

I generally respond to emails that need attention. The ones that don’t need immediate attention typically wait until Monday. I’m generally always aware of what’s in my inbox though.

 

[cyfanbr]

Young engineer professional here (< 10 years experience) in the manufacturing world (24/7 operations).

My current role is not directly responsible for any of the production areas in the plant. I am more of a technical resource for the place and work on longer term capital projects. In the weekends, I am not glued to my work phone. I’ll check it sporadically throughout the day and see if I have an email, call, or texts. I’ll only reply if something is urgent like plant being down and they need help troubleshooting, if it is safety related, or if it will create a lot more work for me on Monday if I don’t answer right there and then.

 

[Gonzo]

You must be new here.

Absolutely I am. Tell me more...

 

[dahliaclone]

It all depends on urgency. I currently have a deal with my manager that once it's the weekend, it's the weekend. If there is something that I MUST respond to...don't email me. Text or call me. If you email it to me I'm assuming it can wait until Monday.

 

[Mr Janny]

Does this mean, as a CF staff member, you’re less likely to drop the ban hammer on a weekend? Asking for a friend….

I'm afraid, nowadays, my banhammer mostly sits in the corner, collecting dust. All of the blood stains are brown with age. Oh, but how I used to weild it, though! How it rocketed through cyberspace, doling out mighty cardinal and gold justice on the heathens and Hawkeyes! If I close my eyes I can still hear them pleading for mercy. A mercy that never came. Sometimes I still pick it up, and don the old executioners hood, that Chris Williams sent all of the mods for Christmas that one year. But it isn't the same as it used to be.

Perhaps banning is a young man's game? I've certainly got a lot more salt and not as much pepper in my beard than I did in the old days. Maybe that's just the way of things. You can beat every enemy they put in front of you, but in the end, the only opponent that matters is the one that greets you when you look in the mirror. And it seems that sad-eyed scarecrow has had the better of me for a while now.

 

[mywayorcyway]

I have my notifications for work email turned off completely. I'll see it when I get to my desk.

 

[Acylum]

I worked for the federal govt for 32 years. I have stories.

 

[exCYtable]

I will read them I won't respond until Monday.

The problem I've found is, even if you just read them and don't respond until Monday, half the time the email has something in it that ****** me off and ruins half or all my weekend fretting over it.

 

[CyCrazy]

The problem I've found is, even if you just read them and don't respond until Monday, half the time the email has something in it that ****** me off and ruins half or all my weekend fretting over it.

I am in Landscapes sales, anything can wait until Monday. I don't usually get nasty emails if at all. My customer base knows we dont work weekends

 

[jsb]

I almost always check them, but rarely respond. And rarely is anyone looking for a response. I like to begin my Monday knowing what I have waiting for me. Same things happen after vacations. I almost always keep up on my emails, so I don't have hundreds waiting for me, but I don't do any work on vacation.

I do find that every once in a while (like once a quarter) I find working on a Saturday very productive and satisfying.

 

[Bader]

I'm afraid, nowadays, my banhammer mostly sits in the corner, collecting dust. All of the blood stains are brown with age. Oh, but how I used to weild it, though! How it rocketed through cyberspace, doling out mighty cardinal and gold justice on the heathens and Hawkeyes! If I close my eyes I can still hear them pleading for mercy. A mercy that never came. Sometimes I still pick it up, and don the old executioners hood, that Chris Williams sent all of the mods for Christmas that one year. But it isn't the same as it used to be.

Perhaps banning is a young man's game? I've certainly got a lot more salt and not as much pepper in my beard than I did in the old days. Maybe that's just the way of things. You can beat every enemy they put in front of you, but in the end, the only opponent that matters is the one that greets you when you look in the mirror. And it seems that sad-eyed scarecrow has had the better of me for a while now.

Straight from the Forum Mod chapter of “My Road” the Cormac McCarthy autobiography

 

[LeaningCy]

I have my notifications for work email turned off completely. I'll see it when I get to my desk.

This is the way. I keep email notifications off so I'm always making a conscious choice to check and respond.

 

[SCNCY]

At my current stage in life, I don’t look at my emails during off hours unless I’m worried about something or something is being pressed for time. But that’s very rare in my current job.

Early in my career, I’d work on the weekends as well as after hours, putting in overtime. But as time went on, I found there wasn’t really any benefit to the extra work I was putting in. So I started to view my job less as how many hours I worked about my responsibilities. So so long I have accomplished my responsibilities, I view myself as doing a good job. And through that, I moved on to a high visibility project at work recently without killing my self.

However, work email stays off my phone. I hate how I have the Microsoft Authenticator on my personal phone, let alone the people I work with have my phone number. People will reach out to my personal phone as opposed to my desk phone, which I have my number in every email. My personal phone should only be used for emergencies, such as closed office or weather.

 

[BCClone]

If it’s important they will call or text. I may go a couple days without checking emails anyhow.