Employee Asks Boss Not to Text Her Outside of Work, Blocks His Number When He Won’t Listen

Does it grind your gears that your boss texts you when you aren't working and expects a response even though you aren't on the clock? Well, there are a lot of other people who feel that same exact way.

Like a TikToker by the name of Vanessa (@wealthxlab) who was so fed up with her manager reaching out to her outside of working hours on her phone that she decided to up and block their number.

She says that in spite of her setting a clear boundary when it comes to texting her outside of work, her boss still wouldn't stop asking her about work-related tasks.

"I just blocked my boss so he couldn't contact me while I wasn't at work I'm at home sick from work today and for some reason he felt the need to text me about work tasks for some context I actually pay $45 a month to have a separate work phone and he knows not to text my personal number but he still does sometimes. So today I blocked him."

She gives a thumbs up at the end of the video along with a text overlay that reads, "Life hacks." Vanessa adds in a caption for the video that reads: "Life hack. Block everyone who texts you."

In other countries like Belgium, Portugal, Italy, and other European nations it's been illegal for companies to contact employees about work-related tasks outside of working hours.

According to Forbes, "France ushered in the right to disconnect," for employees. And it looks like the USA may be following in those footsteps. Many remote workers have reported working longer hours and answering emails, Slack messages, and other type of work correspondence well after they've punched out.

The same outlet stated in a different article that there are parts of the United States, like New York City already laying the groundwork for prohibiting bosses from contacting employees outside of their pre-ordained work schedule.

According to Nolo Law, there are several laws that govern the "off-duty conduct" of workers, which presumably not only encompass what employees do while they're not on the job, but also their decision to refrain from communications when they aren't officially logged on or in the office.

Another outlet, Clockify states that the expectation for employers that its workforce checking email inboxes while they're off the clock is generally no bueno, even though 43% of surveyed employees stated that they regularly read work correspondence when they aren't paid to do so.

The outlet writes: "Off-the-clock work is the work employees perform outside of their working hours and for which they are not compensated. This type of labor does not contribute to overtime pay. It can include any type of activity that benefits the employer and counts as a part of the job. So, working off-the-clock covers work activities done outside official shifts (before or after official working hours), without any compensation."

Text messages between managers and employees could also fall into this category, as does working through a lunch break, reworking/retooling a work task while off the clock, or even organizing one's desk area before or after their shift starts.