Turns out that if you create an excuse to leave on time (kids, gym class, whatever), people will generally let you leave on time and won't question it.
If you disable notifications you won't feel the urge to reply to messages. You can't reply to what you can't see.
If anyone questions your loyalty, explain that jobs come and go, but you [and your family etc] are forever. If they keep pushing, explain that you will gladly behave like a cofounder in exchange for a paltry 20% stake in the company.
They usually leave you alone after that.
Caveat: this only works if you're good at what you do and difficult to replace.
> Caveat: this only works if you're good at what you do and difficult to replace.
So it only works for a minority of people then. I'd also say "or difficult to replace", the ones that are good at what they do tend to make themselves replaceable.
You'd be surprised. Just knowing how the org works and knowing the internal lingo makes you really annoying to replace. Onboarding people takes a lot of time and effort. Finding ones you're even willing to onboard is even harder.
But if you're just stacking boxes, you might not have enough leverage.
Everyone who reads HN probably has enough leverage to set boundaries.
I bet the client is terrified of doing it themselves and is paying oodless of money for the assurance that the computer will now and forever Just Work. And if it doesn't it's your fault and not theirs.
Being a scapegoat can be very profitable.
How does the saying go again? Nobody ever got fired fot buying IBM? Something like that.
Being the scapegoat is a valuable service if you do it well.
I managed to do it when I was a lowly Geek Squad employee during college. I always had an excuse prepared ahead of time in case someone asked me to stay late, and I was just generally prepared to say no to ridiculous requests.
If you disable notifications you won't feel the urge to reply to messages. You can't reply to what you can't see.
If anyone questions your loyalty, explain that jobs come and go, but you [and your family etc] are forever. If they keep pushing, explain that you will gladly behave like a cofounder in exchange for a paltry 20% stake in the company.
They usually leave you alone after that.
Caveat: this only works if you're good at what you do and difficult to replace.