Is it fair for a manager to expect work communications out of hours?

There are plenty of jobs out there where, like it or not, being on call is always going to be a necessary part of the experience. Overtime is something that is often the bare minimum, not an extra effort that sets somebody apart because of the nature of the work. It is something that an employee has to accept if they are going to go down certain career paths.

At the same time, there are a lot of jobs that seem to expect workers to commit to odd hours, although they would be fine with sticking to the standard 9-to-5 or equivalent. Many people prefer to have the kind of work that they can mostly forget about when they are off the clock, and barring certain high-stress situations, many office jobs should fit that bill. 

However, many an employee who signed up for a job expecting standard hours has been faced with the unwelcome surprise of a boss or a company culture that seems to demand that they be available whenever they think that they should be available. More often than not, this doesn’t increase productivity all that much and leaves workers feeling overworked and stressed, but that doesn’t stop them from making these kinds of demands. They believe that a person’s first loyalty should be to their employer, no matter what the side effects may be. While some will accept this if they get paid for the extra time, it often doesn’t work out that way.