'AITA for sending a 404 Error to my boss every time they try and contact me after working hours.'
"AITA for sending a “404 Error: Not Available” auto-reply to my boss after work hours?"
WordWeaveHub writes:
So, my boss has this habit of messaging me way after work hours—like 11 PM on a Tuesday or 7 AM on a Sunday. And it’s never an emergency, just random stuff that could 100% wait. I’ve tried to drop hints that I don’t check messages outside of work, but clearly, he didn’t get the memo.
So, I decided to have a little fun and set up an auto-reply on my email and Slack that said: "404 Error: Employee Not Found. Please try again during business hours. If this is an emergency, please reconsider your definition of ‘emergency.’"
I didn’t think much of it until he messaged me at 10:30 PM on a Friday, and the auto-reply kicked in. The next morning, I woke up to an annoyed email from him, saying my response was “unprofessional” and that I should be more “dedicated” to my job.
I replied (politely), explaining that I believe in maintaining a work-life balance and that if something is truly urgent, he can call me directly. Spoiler: he’s never actually called because—shocker—it’s never really urgent.
Some of my coworkers thought it was hilarious, but a couple said I might have gone too far and made things awkward with the boss. So, AITA for setting up the auto-reply instead of just ignoring his messages? Or is my boss the one who needs to chill?
Here are the top rated comments.
Traditional_Curve401 says:
Ignore the messages. NTA but take down the auto-reply.
No-Comfortable-3918 says:
I'm retired now but used to be senior management. I routinely sent emails after business hours but explained to all my staff that I wasn't expecting an immediate response or action. With all the meetings filling up my typical day, after hours was my only opportunity to catch up with email communications.
No-Complaints3601 says:
Funny? Sure. Unprofessional? Totally.
oop_norf says:
Nope. 'Unprofessional' is expecting an answer out of hours. Working when you're contracted to is professional behavior. It's not OP's fault their boss needs the reminder.