Employee says boss talked to his mother cause he slept after completing office hours. Internet calls it 'unprofessional'

Conversations around work-life balance and workplace boundaries continue to gain attention on social media, with many employees sharing experiences of long working hours and unrealistic expectations. A similar discussion recently unfolded on Reddit after a startup employee claimed his employer questioned his professionalism for going to sleep after completing his office hours. According to the employee, the situation escalated when repeated late-night work calls were made, and his mother ended up answering one of them, leading to a conversation that left him uncomfortable.

The employee, who said he had joined an early-stage startup a couple of months ago, shared that he earns ₹23,000 per month and works from 9 am to 6 pm at the office. His post has since drawn widespread reactions, with many users debating whether the employer crossed professional boundaries.

Employee says he went to sleep after working all day

Explaining what happened, the employee said the team was trying to meet a deadline and expected everyone to continue working until around 2 am. However, after spending the entire day at work, he decided to rest.


He wrote, "Last night we had a deadline, and the team wanted everyone to keep working until around 2 AM. I had already spent the entire day in the office, and my eyes were hurting badly from staring at the screen. I had also taken medication, so I went to sleep."

The employee clarified that he was not trying to avoid work. Instead, he said he was exhausted after a full day in the office and had taken medication before going to bed.

According to the Reddit post, the team later started a WhatsApp group call while he was asleep. Since the phone kept ringing, his mother eventually answered it.

Recalling what happened next, he wrote, "Instead of simply asking where I was, they told my mother that this is a full-time role, asked how I could be sleeping, and said it was a sign of unprofessionalism."

The employee said this part of the incident made him feel uncomfortable.

"That really made me uncomfortable. I understand that deadlines happen and sometimes extra work is required, but expecting someone to stay awake until 2 AM after already working a full office day—and then making those comments to my mother when she happened to answer the group call—felt inappropriate."

He further added, "For context, I wasn't ignoring work intentionally. I was exhausted, my eyes were hurting, and I had taken medication before sleeping."

Seeking advice from other Reddit users, he asked, "Am I overreacting, or is this crossing professional boundaries? How would you handle this situation? I'm still new to the company, so I'm unsure whether I should raise this issue or just start looking for another job."

Reddit users call the employer's actions unprofessional

The post quickly attracted comments from users, many of whom felt the employer had gone beyond acceptable workplace limits.

One user wrote, "No, they are the ones who have been unprofessional. First of all, a professional way of communication is through Teams or email. Better quit and start looking for better jobs."

Another commented, "And talking to your mother about anything except 'please tell him to contact the office urgently' is unprofessional. Also, tell your mother not to pick up your phone if you're sleeping, especially if it's from work. Set some boundaries, bro."

Several users also questioned the salary in relation to the work expectations. One Redditor wrote, "Simple response - You pay me 23k a month for x hrs of work. Anything above that is unpaid overtime. Unless you are paying me overtime, I will utilise my personal time anyway that I want."

Another added, "Full-time doesn't mean your entire life is owned by your employer as long as you are employed."