Engineer receives call from senior at 1.30 am for early morning shift, shares post: 'Ridiculous'

The unexpected demand followed a late night at work, as Vinay Patil had left the office at 9 pm the previous evening.

A Reddit post by a support engineer has sparked widespread discussion about workplace expectations and boundaries after he revealed that he received a work call at 1:30 am instructing him to report to the office within five hours.

The engineer, identified as Vinit Patil, shared that he missed the call, which was intended to notify him of an urgent schedule change requiring him to begin his shift at 6 am instead of his usual 7:30 am start time. The unexpected demand followed a late night at work, as Patil had left the office at 9 pm the previous evening.

In his Reddit post, Patil detailed the incident, writing, "Yesterday night I was given a phone call by my colleague who is senior to me for informing I have to join office at 6 am and my shift starts at 7:30 (PS: I work as a support engineer). I didn't pick up that call as I was asleep. My mobile was beside me and still, I was unaware that I received a call till I woke up at 6 and checked my mobile wondering what will be the consequences."

Didn't pick office colleagues call while asleep at 1:30 am byu/Vinit-Patil-2002 indevelopersIndia

The post quickly gained traction, with many users criticising the company’s approach as unprofessional.

One user commented, "Ridiculous. At 1:30 am, he wants to inform you to join at 6 am. What kind of unprofessional behaviour is that? I'd report it to the project manager but in a friendly tone."

Others offered advice on how to handle the situation, with some suggesting that confronting the issue might not be effective in the context of Indian workplace culture. "Don't worry. Nothing will happen. Don't give in to what people are saying about telling the project lead or someone. In India, things don't work like that. Only excuses work here, else the person's ego gets hurt. So go around at 9 and smilingly apologise, saying I was asleep when you called and woke up at 8 and then looked at your message. So came rushing in," another user wrote.

The post also ignited a broader conversation on the platform about the expectations placed on employees, especially in industries like tech support where round-the-clock availability is often demanded. Many users expressed concern over the blurring of personal and professional boundaries, particularly when urgent work calls are made during non-working hours.

"Bro don't do that you have to set boundaries. Otherwise they'll say keep your phone on and be available at all times as you can be called anytime. I also work in IT and started as support. You need boundaries. They will forgive your buttery lines today but it will not work the next time it happens. When people say communicate you can tell it to your senior who called you, don't take this as filing a complaint against your senior to your lead or manager," a third user remarked.