Snapcase
Ron Gilbert (GrumpyGamer)Pro-tip: If you're a boss or manager, don't send email, Slacks, etc, outside of business hours. You might not intend them to be responded to until start of work, but it send a subtile message of "I'm working at 11pm or on the weekend, why aren't you?"
jonossa seuraava@grumpygamer scheduled messages ✌️
Owen@jonossaseuraava @grumpygamer came here to say this (schedule messages).
Even if the message didn't necessitate a response, sending outside of work hours can suggest an expectation that your team is working then (because you are).
saga@grumpygamer 👏👏👏
The power dynamic is at play in an interaction like this that is hidden to the person holding the power.
I'd add - don't send your employees messages like "got a second to talk?" that don't also provide context! Anyone that's been in a toxic work environment likely has PTSD from such messages 😂
someguyjg@saga @grumpygamer I got laid off after getting one of those messages and was totally blindsided. I strolled into the office thinking it was just an actual "got a sec"
@someguyjg @grumpygamer yep this is the thing I'm immediately afraid of ANY time I get a nondescript message like this.
Berzerkraccoon@saga @grumpygamer I had to unlearn my defensive reactions when my new lead used this to show me cool stuff only, while my previous lead was toxic and whatever followed those lines was always negative.
@Berzerkraccoon @grumpygamer yeah absolutely. It's probably my politics but I find myself hypervigilant of labor power dynamics - the context and trust between the people engaged in an interaction like this plays a huge part in the level of anxiety that something like this triggers which is why I prefer to avoid it altogether.
"Got a sec to chat about something cool?" Is the same level of effort but in the context of a power dynamic has less of a chilling effect!
@saga @grumpygamer Due to previous very negative experiences, I do care about those dynamics a lot, and I love to see your posts on this subject, and also, what you do to avoid those dynamics and effects.
Just like your example, I’ve tried to be more explicit about the “why” - “Do you have a minute to talk about [x]?”. And sometimes, be even more explicit about “Nothing to worry about, I just need your input on this.”
@Berzerkraccoon @grumpygamer ♥️ little things like this compounded over time/across studios and the games industry will become so much more humane!
@saga @grumpygamer Well said! I love seeing this shift, and learning from everyone who is actively supporting this shift. We can make great games without being toxic.
Mark Verrey@saga @grumpygamer goddamn, I just got a cold sweat
ACGI send everyone this as soon as they start with the "hi" or "got a moment" bullshit:
https://therealadam.com/2021/11/01/dont-be-spooky/
LiamSora 
@alexcg That second point is so important too. I had a previous boss that would either call me when I was off or wait until he was about to leave on Friday to tell me he was upset about something one of my employees did weeks ago and never mentioned until now.
So now not only is it harder for me to address the issue with my employee because it was something that happened weeks ago but I get to spend my entire weekend or day off worrying about it. 
@liamsora my ex-manager considered our relationship so matey that it would come across as nbd. The general environment made me a bit paranoid I think
@alexcg Yeah I think my manager probably thought the same thing. It wasn't until shortly before he left and I mentioned that I didn't think I was good at managing that he suddenly realized the only feedback he had ever given me about my management was when he was complaining about my employees.
From his perspective he was thinking "You're so good, I hardly ever have to even say anything." But what I got was "The only things he ever says are negative so he must think I'm terrible at this."
@liamsora pretty tired now, so can't give a decent response. But nice to meet someone in a similar situation.
Well, "nice" I guess. I wish nobody ever had to go through this bullshit. But misery breeds something or other
(Damn, work events take a toll)
wfleming@saga @grumpygamer maybe I should feel bad about it, but I’m not going to lie, I’ve worked in toxic work environments in the past and sent the “do you have a minute to talk” slack messages to my manager to start the giving 2 weeks notice process, and taken great pleasure in it
Z@saga @grumpygamer ALL my firings started like that.
Deidzoeb/R Northrup 
@grumpygamer Microsoft Outlook started giving little messages maybe 6-8 minutes ago like "Do you want to schedule your email to be sent later during the recipient's normal work hours?" It seems totally alien to me & unlike the way we've been expected to handle emails. However a friend told me some European countries have outlawed bosses sending email outside of normal hours, because it implies the recipient should respond outside of normal hours.
@Deidzoeb I wish Slack could randomize the time for scheduled message so someone doesn't get a barrage of messages at 9:00.
Thomas BIDAUX@grumpygamer I do it all the time... but I schedule them to be sent during work hours.
Luis G Rodriguez-Rullan@grumpygamer When I send emails outside of work hours, I use Gmail’s “schedule send” feature to send the email the next business day at 8 AM.
Francisco 
@grumpygamer Nice tip, I'll share it on our team's slack channel after dinner.
Andreu RetroCGA@grumpygamer @grumpygamer I'm not manager. But 6maybe during the day I had something to do (bring my child to doctor, or even headache, etc) and I'm working later than usual and if I email someone I don't expect an answer until that person can. I find this asyncronous flexible working way more efficient.
Lauren Lavoie@grumpygamer I love the scheduled messages feature in Slack for this purpose. If I happen to be working after hours, or just think of something I don't want to forget, I can schedule the message for a reasonable time and avoid creating those subtle implications. I'll also set my Slack status to Away if I happen to be online after hours—I don't want people to feel pressured by my green bubble if it's 10pm.
Marc Chambers@grumpygamer Schedule Send is great for this. I'm compulsive about late working but I've learned to force myself to schedule the email to land during the next business hours.
Stefano Marinelli@grumpygamer I've been doing it for years, as I had always considered e-mails as an async way of communicating. Now that people treat IM as E-Mails and E-Mails as IM, I use my software's function to schedule them at the proper hours.
Michael K@grumpygamer 100% agreed. One should be especially mindful when working with folk in other time zones. I’m in New Zealand with workmates around the globe, so I make sure to use send later/scheduled sends(after contemplating whether I actually need to send anything 😊 )
Nathan Harvey@grumpygamer I struggled with this at first. As an IC I had always just worked the hours I wanted to and went through my queue to completion, including emails needed. But when I reached out as a lead, I saw team members reaching back immediately and I would try to explain “oh, I didn’t mean for you to be reading this at these hours, just had some time to work through my queue. But work-life balance, do as I say not as I do…” and I realized really quickly that if I was working sending communication, even if I really, truly do not want to be setting any similar expectations on anyone, they would see it as such. I was modeling a toxic behavior that causes a toxic environment, even if I tried to be friendly about it.
Viiri@grumpygamer it's like the boss who's like "we are chill about working hours here" but then they work 14-hour days and setting an example.
Justin Maxwell@grumpygamer we are a family-friendly remote company working across multiple time zones and countries and we put the onus on the team member to have discipline and set their DND. there are many times I have to take off at 3pm PST and only can get work done from 8-10pm instead of that usual 3-5 slot. So it's more about setting expectations and norms. But in a usual 9-5 I agree with you. I had a manager at google who would terrorize us on the weekends about Monday deliverables.
geekycatladyI actually got into a heated fight with a subcontractor once, who did not for the life of his understand that I do not want to answer questions or discuss invoicing over WhatsApp at 10 p.m. "You don't have to reply," they said, "I'll forget that by morning," they said. It drove me mad, really, because not only did I see the message nonetheless, but also of course thought about it right before bed, often causing me to not fall asleep at all.
RevK 
@grumpygamer I really struggle with that - I do indeed think "that's fine, they will see that when they get in". But it does send the wrong message. It is not easy though - I think of something and send an email, or whatever. But yeh, good advice.
Thankfully I do have some people that will remind me.
Thankfully I do have some people that will remind me.
Eggmont 🐘@grumpygamer
On the other hand if your boss doesn't really comprehend what you do for a living pose theoretical or technical questions at random times between midnight and 3:00AM.
"I'm setting up a new DB server, do you prefer MyISAM or Innodb?"
"Should we put our Active Directory in Azure or keep it local?"
"Do we have budget for a new FangleGadget? The old FangleGadget is showing its age by smoking at bit."
Sending the subtle message, "I'm working while you are asleep at the wheel."
Troy PattersonEspecially in the age of scheduled send. Work whenever you want. But schedule your email to arrive first thing in the shift for your employees.
Nate!This is easier than ever these days; Slack and Outlook both have "send during working hours" options, with almost no effort I can still have my random weekend thoughts and at the same time honor other people's off time.
Chris [list of emoji]Also true if you're a senior peer.