That rarest of things, a Money.SE post about free money that's not actually a scam:

How to ignore calls after work? do you use specific apps?

@RE60K what sort of calls are you meaning?

on my mobile phone

and whatsapp calls

I mean are they support calls? that sort of thing

no, they just want to offload their work on me or ask work that is due tomorrow or so

so that they can meet deadlines which they miscalculated

is there anything stopping you just rejecting the calls as they come in?

i am only 1 year experienced, i am afraid it might affect my appraisals and exit review

or alternatively just telling people not to ring you after hours - and that you won't answer if they do

this seems good

telling them in advance

we don't have fixed hours and since COVID they assume I am free whole day long, it's a startup

I talked to my manager and he said this is the time to learn and you should not think of only working fixed hours when you are close to retirement. You should work as much as possible now.

He says.

if you're contract doesn't require you to be available after hours they can't expect you to be - but yeah if hours aren't fixed any more that's a little hazier, but honestly I'd just cancel them

and your manager sounds like what is technically termed an "asshole"

can't help it, if it was non-covid time, i would have joined FAANG or so

what he's actually saying is "I want to get as much work as possible out of you as I can while trying to convince you that it's for your own good"

yes I agree

usually work starts at 11 AM so I think after 6 PM should be fine to ignore calls

going a little bit above "standard" hours can be a good way to progress your career in the early stages - it can help you stand out from colleagues who don't but you have to be careful to ensure that you have decent boundaries set up between work and life

other wise burnout and general misery ensue - and it's a lot harder to put boundaries in once you are already overwhelmed then it is to set them at a reasonable place in the first place

will think about it.

I had to work this weekend and had to deploy code until 10PM on monday and tuesday

was tough

ouch... I feel your pain :( been there and done that a few too many times

the thing is the occasional out-of-hours work does come with the territory - and as long as it remains occasional that's fine

yes, will have to see if it becomes too often.

If you go above and beyond, be careful. As a manager once warmed me, "If you keep doing it, it becomes your job."

Or in other words, if you keep exceeding expectations, they become the new expectations

yes, now my team usually asks me for devops work even though I am just supposed to work on api development as a software developer

i usualy took it as a learning experience in the beginning but it gets repetitive and seems like they could have done the same easily

@RE60K this is where the term "managing expectations" comes into play. You need to slow your roll, because if you don't, you will eventually burn out. You need to keep something in reserves

@Old_Lamplighter reserves as in pending work?

@RE60K reserves as in your time and your energy. Pending work to a lesser extent as well. If you're getting everything done on schedule, management does not see a problem.

"If you keep doing it, it becomes your job." Hard yes. It's really easy to miscommunicate "I'm happy to do this whenever I'm asked to" when you want to communicate "I'll do this, but only because it's critical. I resent having to do it, but I understand it's important. Don't keep asking me to do it because this is not OK or sustainable."

@PlayerOne I've never heard that phrase, but it's absolutely true. Just remember you can use it to your advantage. If there's something you want to become your job, just keep doing it and it will soon get there.

@RE60K The important question to always be asking yourself is "what am I getting out of this?". For instance, I will sometimes go above and beyond normal working hours for my company, but only because a) I'm angling for more seniority, and demonstrating you're willing to sacrifice for the good of the company is a necessary prerequisite. And b) They're very accommodating in turn around flexibility.

If you're just working beyond your contracted hours and getting nothing for it (no pay, no recognition, no flexibility when you're the one who needs it) then you shouldn't do it.

this ^^^^^

hi guys