‘Bad’: Work text that ruined a holiday

A wild text message from a boss has sparked a huge debate online and revealed what could ruin anyone’s holiday.

Holidays are for buying cocktails, relaxing and packing things you never need, certainly not reading texts or emails about work.

Ben Askins, a UK workplace expert, has amassed a huge following online for sharing career advice and advocating for the worker.

He is gaining traction for sharing a text message a man named Tom got from his boss while on holiday, with the post already getting more than 80,000 views.

Mr Askins read the text out, and it was anyone’s holiday nightmare.

“Hi Tom, I hope you’re having a great time on holidays. There’s no need to reply right now, but I just wanted to keep you in the loop,” the text read.

“We had a visit from the area manager and he is pissed about our figures. I think we’re going to have some really tough meetings when you’re back.”

The worker then replied, because who could ignore that?

They wrote: “Hey Dave, I just saw this, and it has got me a little concerned. Shall we have a call?”

The boss then messaged again and offered no answers. He reiterated that he didn’t want the worker “worried” while he was away because there was nothing he could do, but proceeded to do nothing but paint a very worrying picture.

“It is a real shit show, he is in a bad mood and I don’t really know how bad it is going to be when you’re back. Again nothing you and I can do, until you’re back. Just wanted to give you a heads up, just relax and enjoy your time off.”

Mr Askins said that the most “depressing” thing about the text messages is that the sender thinks they’ve done the right thing.

“He is on holiday. All you’ve done is ruin his holiday,” he said.

Workers were stunned by the boss text. Picture: Istcok

People in the comment section were also shocked by the text message and the employer’s lack of tact.

“He has good intentions, but the timing was terrible,” one mused.

“That is a text for the day he comes back,” another wrote.

“This is why work phones are vital. Leave them turned off or at home when you go on holiday,” one wrote.

Someone else called it “passive aggressive”.

Another said that once work “disturbs” you on holiday, you can never relax, and someone else shared that they thought someone would only send a text like that if they “wanted” you to worry.

Ben read the messages out. Picture: TikTok/benaskins.official

Ben said no matter the intention of the text it would make anyone panic. Picture: TikTok/benaskins.official

Mr Askins pointed out that that text message would be playing on his mind throughout his entire holiday, and the boss has offered no solutions.

“Seriously, all you’ve done is panic for him for the rest of the week,” he added.

As of last month, Australian workers have been given the “right to disconnect” outside of working hours.

This means employees have the legal right to refuse contact outside of their working hours and to refuse to monitor, read, or respond to contact from an employer or third party.

This is all within reason, of course, and several factors need to be considered before ignoring your boss.

These include the reason for the contact, how the contact is made, and how disruptive it is to the employee and their personal circumstances, such as family or caring responsibilities.

It doesn’t mean bosses can’t message you.

Ms Calder explained that text message problems are a common issue. Picture: Supplied

Recruitment expert Roxanne Calder told news.com.au that the text act is not “uncommon” in Australia.

It comes down to the fact that, for better or worse, we all live on our phones these days.

“We are able to text and we’ve lost boundaries. That kind of communication is selfish because you’ve ruined the person’s holiday,” she told news.com.au.

Ms Calder said that the right to disconnect does mean your boss can still contact you, but you have the right to ignore it.

Ms Calder said in general, she doesn’t think this is bad because the connection is important, but it needs to be about the right stuff.

She said, for instance, that she’s happy to hear from employees outside of hours if they are anxious about an issue.

“If they need to reach out to you, they’ve got some concerns. You don’t want someone stressed in the evening. If you’re a compassionate leader, you want your team to be able to reach out to you,” she said.

But, of course, that doesn’t mean you should send vague and anxiety-inducing text messages to your employees.

Ms Calder said if she ever had to have a tough conversation, she’d make it a phone call because it is so hard to “convey any emotion” over texts.

“I always tell people to know who you are commuting with and use the right words,” she said.

Ms Calder said you should always consider how you could trigger someone and rememeber boundaries.

Originally published as ‘Bad’: Work text that ruined a holiday