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it's important to figure out where to set your own boundaries. people out to exploit you will seek to see how far they can push. congratulations for leaving.

one thing that catches out some junior folks is that they may believe this kind of behaviour from bosses is normal and unavoidable as they have only worked for exploitative bosses at places with toxic cultures. you can do better, you're worth it. get out. find a more mature company with professional managers, where it's normal to leave the office on time and turn off all your work comms and leave all work-related messages unanswered until you're back in the office and getting paid to think about work again.



I think this is the right point, but it's tough.

People don't like to say "no" or "can't do it in that timeline" and other permutations of these statements. If you can't even challenge or disagree with anything, then you're doing something wrong, or you're in the wrong environment, or both.

20 years into my career and still practicing this.

One hack: I can't respond when I'm asleep! So, I head to bed pretty early (9:30-10 EST).




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