Then six months pass and your personal phone has basically become an extension of the office.
A message comes in at 9:00 PM asking for “quick thoughts.” Someone sends a task on Sunday morning. Your manager drops something in the group and expects everyone to respond. Then comes the classic: “Sorry to disturb you over the weekend, but…”
Because it is WhatsApp, the work chat sits right alongside messages from your family and friends. The same phone you use to relax, catch up with people and switch off from the day is also where your boss can reach you.
For many people, that has made switching off from work a lot harder.
What the community had to say
When we asked our community whether being reachable after working hours is part of being a committed employee or whether people should be able to switch off, the response was pretty clear.
A lot of people have already found their own ways of creating some distance from work.
1. Different app, same rules
One of the comments captured a simple point: moving work communication from email to WhatsApp does not automatically change when you are expected to respond.
“Only respond during work hours just the way you would on email. Different app, same rules!”
It is a useful distinction. A message being delivered to your phone at 9:00 PM does not necessarily make it an urgent message.
If it could have waited until Monday morning on email, it can probably wait until Monday morning on WhatsApp too.
2. Mute and archive
The mute button seems to have become something of a survival tool.
One person simply said:
“Group is archived and on mute”
Another kept it even simpler:
“SIMPLE… MUTE ALL WORK GROUPS ON WEEKENDS”
And someone else suggested archiving the group and blocking out work contacts over the weekend altogether.
There is something telling about how many people have had to create these little systems just to get some peace from their own phones.
3. Work hours mean work hours
Another response focused on the importance of keeping communication within the hours people are actually employed to work.
That sounds simple, but it becomes harder when the workplace culture quietly rewards people who are constantly available.
Someone responds at 10:00 PM. Another person replies five minutes later. Before long, being online after hours starts looking normal, even when nobody officially said that employees were required to be available.
Why is it so difficult to switch off?
There is a psychological reason work can follow you home even when you have stopped responding.
One important concept is psychological detachment. Your brain needs some distance from work in order to properly recover from it. That means having time when you are not thinking about tasks, deadlines, colleagues or what needs to be done tomorrow.
A work notification can interrupt that process.
You might not even open the message. You might see the preview, think “I’ll deal with that tomorrow,” and put your phone down.
But now the task is sitting somewhere in the back of your mind.
There is also the pressure of availability. When colleagues are constantly responding outside working hours, it can create an unspoken expectation that everyone else should do the same.
Nobody has to explicitly tell you that you should answer.
You just start noticing who is online.
You see your manager sending messages at night. You see colleagues replying. You begin wondering whether ignoring the group makes you look less committed.
That is where a simple WhatsApp group can start affecting how people experience their own free time.
The issue is not always the message itself. Sometimes it is the feeling that you are never completely away from work.
So, how do you get some of that time back?
There are a few simple things employees can do without turning it into a major workplace confrontation.
Mute the group. You do not have to receive an alert every time someone sends “Good morning team” at 7:12 AM or drops a message late at night.
Archive it. If seeing the group sitting at the top of your WhatsApp is enough to tempt you into checking it, remove it from your immediate view.
Respond during working hours. If a message is not urgent, responding the next morning can quietly establish your availability without having to make a big announcement.
Be clear about genuine emergencies. Some jobs do require after-hours availability. If that is part of the role, everyone should know what actually counts as urgent and when people are expected to respond.
And sometimes the conversation does need to happen. If messages outside working hours have become constant, employees should be able to raise that concern without being labelled difficult or uncommitted.
A WhatsApp group is useful. It can make work easier and communication faster.
It can also make it very easy for work to follow you everywhere.
Your phone is still your phone. Your evening is still your evening. Having a job does not mean every notification deserves an immediate response.
Disclaimer: This column is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute clinical advice. While exploring these psychological concepts can provide helpful insight, it is not a replacement for professional therapy. If you are struggling with deep family conflict, burnout, or mental health challenges and want to dive deeper, please consider reaching out to a licensed therapist or mental health professional for personalized guidance.
Haika Gerson is a mental health practitioner with a background in psychology and a focus on modern relational wellness.
