r/technicallythetruth 7d ago

He will come tomorrow

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37.8k Upvotes

861 comments sorted by

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8.3k

u/One_Courage_865 7d ago

Who asks someone to work at 2 am on the same day?

1.5k

u/Orbit1883 7d ago

Basic food service fuckery

76

u/horny_coroner 5d ago

Half a days pay as an emergency fee for any work that is offered less than 12 hours before should be standard.

35

u/Orbit1883 5d ago

In Germany you have to give Note four days in adwance per law

In theory

in reality its exactly like in the Picture

15

u/horny_coroner 5d ago

In Finland it depends on what job and the unions rules. But most jobs have an emergency callout pay. And if you try and not pay it a union lawyer will rip the company a new asshole. Because it's an easy open and shut case. You can't drop work on people and not compensate. Also you don't have to take any extra work outside of your working hours but usually 50% for the first two hours, double for the rest and about 100 euros of emergeny pay gets people interested.

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u/QuestionablePotato42 7d ago

Rookie mistake tbh. As someone who has to contact people about scheduling pretty regularly, you ALWAYS put a time and then the date

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u/Tiny-Ad-7590 5d ago

And the timezone if it's international. Always.

2.1k

u/NotmyRealNameJohn 7d ago edited 7d ago

An overnight manager who just got 2 call-outs and realized they are fucked in the morning? Also, likely been working all night and are looking for someone to relieve them so they can get some sleep?

1.1k

u/Icy_Fish_2154 7d ago

Why wouldn't they call it "today"?

1.4k

u/J_train13 7d ago

Or just simplify things by saying "in the morning"

739

u/Shudnawz 7d ago

Even better, specify the date.

463

u/caffieneandsarcasm 7d ago

For real. “Would you be able to cover 900-1700, dd/mm?” Leaves basically no room for confusion

221

u/fiah84 7d ago

what year tho

293

u/perton 7d ago

1638

Dude’s super late.

33

u/Dr_Jabroski 6d ago

I don't know why but 1683 is a much better year than 1638. This is based on the numbers alone, I have no idea what was happening in history at the time.

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u/Hey_Its_Freya 6d ago

I prefer 1638 as a number. 1683 has a weird vibe.

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u/Grandpa_Edd 7d ago

Oh I'm sorry I thought you meant next year.

10

u/DoctorWaluigiTime 7d ago

12th... May... Thursday

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u/HOPE964 7d ago

That could be 2037

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u/iMiind 7d ago

We could at least say 09:00-17:00 right? For the commonfolk

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u/Zerschmetterding 7d ago

People are resistant to giving useful information 

19

u/MysticScribbles 7d ago

You expecting me to cover shifts for 800 years?

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u/jtr99 7d ago

New to the restaurant industry then?

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u/HakimeHomewreckru 6d ago

I've seen both sides of the medallion. If I sent this, I would receive "bitch u mean today? why dont u just say that?"

3

u/geGamedev 7d ago

Lol you would think so but having worked third shift suggests otherwise.

My work day begins just before 10pm and people are apparently completely incapable of understanding that the majority of the shift takes place on the day after we clock in. People often say the day they clocked in but the time they're actually talking about. If you interpret what they say based on their actual words you'll end up 24hrs off from what they meant.

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u/aerdvarkk 6d ago

OR specifying a day of the week like "work on tuesday 9-5" OR specify a date as in "work on Aug 26 from 9-5".

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u/ExpertActive100 7d ago

Yeah, this is the way

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u/Possible-Highway7898 7d ago

I used to be a manager. I would always write out the day and date in full when asking someone to cover an extra shift. To avoid any confusion.

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u/Traveling_Solo 7d ago

Yeah... Like I could understand soon after midnight, like 00:05 or before 1 AM at least. But at 2 AM you ought to know it's a new day already

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u/Icy_Fish_2154 7d ago

Even at 10 p.m., if someone said "can you work 9 a.m. today" it would be strange, might cause a follow up question, but would be unambiguous.

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u/jarlscrotus 7d ago

Or, "in the morning "

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u/fuxxo 7d ago

Because most people who work nights or evening shifts and go to bed after midnight consider "tomorrow" after they wake up. Never said to myself after midnight oh it's a next day already.

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

[deleted]

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u/Icy_Fish_2154 7d ago

I've worked nights. When shift starts, it's "tomorrow". I don't wait for end of shift to update my day, I update it at start of shift, that was how everyone else did it there too.

How long did you work nights?

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u/FlyRepresentative644 7d ago

Yea, but tomorrow isn’t usually to indicate “in 6.5hrs.”

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u/Rizo1981 7d ago

Yeah. Unless it's like 9PM.

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u/TheyCallHimEl 7d ago

Having worked overnights for many years, today, tomorrow and yesterday are qualitative identities. They mean nothing because I was working on two different days at the same time, leaving and returning to work on the same calendar day. It became a habit to say date and time when I needed to relay important information

5

u/DermaFlerp 7d ago

My daily alarm goes off at 3:00am, and when I turn it off in the morning my iPhone displays a greeting message: “Good morning, the weather tomorrow will be…” Makes me so mad. Like it’s today bitch.

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u/WolfieVonD 7d ago

Working overnight shifts sometimes confuses our schedules. If I get a full sleep between now and then, it's tomorrow for me. If I start work at 10:00 p.m., I consider waking up at 8:00 p.m. to be my morning. It's easy to fall into this trap.

3

u/CaptainKurley 6d ago

Because working at night shift is, “Yesterday is today, today is tomorrow, and tomorrow is who knows when. Source, I’ve worked night shift for like five years.

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u/Palpitation-Itchy 7d ago

Probably stress

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u/MonsieurDrole 7d ago

You know it'll be read in the morning, take 2 minutes to disambiguate. Hell, even apologize for such a last minute request.

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u/Independent-Water321 7d ago

If only they had a way to add that context to the message to make it clear what the ask was!

10

u/Keiteaea 7d ago

Well still wrong lf him if he can't have the decency to apologize for the last minute request and does not even explain the context. "Can you work tomorrow" send at 2 am for 9am does not cut it.

22

u/anneofred 7d ago

The use the correct words and say “month/date at time” or feel the consequences at being a shit communicator

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u/User_namesaretaken 7d ago

In other words, a "manager" who can't manage shit

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u/NotmyRealNameJohn 7d ago

I think you are overestimating the power of the overnight manager.

35

u/Brvcx 7d ago

Tbf, in that hypothetical situation they're doing something to manage things proactively!

Would've been better if they mentioned a specifc date and time in their first message, though. And even better if they started with a "sorry to bother you at this ungodly hour, but [message].

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u/NotmyRealNameJohn 7d ago

I mean I 100% add the date and day name in a situation like this.

AKA can you work wed, 8/26 at 9am? I have had some unexpected callouts and need someone early this morning.

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u/Brvcx 7d ago

Exactly, or even add "to be clear, in about 7 hours from sending this message".

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u/Prestigious-Shop-494 7d ago

Reddit users have this weird idea that any sort of person with authority like a boss or manager is a useless subhuman

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u/SuicideTrainee 7d ago

How tf do you manage two employees calling off shift?

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u/TheReddective 7d ago

He's trying to find someone to pick up the shift. What do you want him to do?

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u/Useful-Problem-1725 6d ago

If only we hired more than the bare minimum

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u/Longjumping_Lab_7144 7d ago

Nurse staffing offices. Routinely.

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u/karlnite 7d ago

My work would, it’s a power plant. We would also possibly get a call at 2 am for the shift like 36 hours in the future, because there can be a cascade of coverage and they need to get ahead of it. As such we always confirm the date and shift. So if they said “can you come in tomorrow” at 2 am, I would answer “I can cover Friday second shift this week”, or something.

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u/Similar-Sector-5801 7d ago

And yet employees have to give 2 weeks warning in advance of them sneezing 🫩

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u/Fun_Hall6867 6d ago

Am I the only one pissed by the “can u work tomorrow” not even because it’s factually incorrect. But why is it not “hey mate, I know this is proper late notice and hope this doesn’t wake you. Do you mind doing us a solid and working in the morning please? We’re a bit fucked - wouldn’t ask this late otherwise”

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u/SilasAI6609 6d ago

I mean, they were too lazy to type out "you" , so what do u expect?

32

u/Fun_Hall6867 6d ago

From a manager, more than this. From this specific manager, exactly what was provided! Just because you expect shit, receive shit, doesn’t mean you can’t still be annoyed by shit

7

u/amitym 6d ago

so what do u expect?

*wat u xpect

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u/SilasAI6609 6d ago

The unxpected

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u/Musesoutloud 6d ago

No manners, no etiquette.

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u/max19907 6d ago

also messaging at 2:40am.. like wtf

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u/Ember-513 7d ago

I don't think the employee is even being a smartass and abusing a technicality here. No one with common sense says "tomorrow" when they mean 6½ hours from now.

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u/carsonite17 7d ago

Not even that, based on the timestamp the employee probably didn't even read the text till almost 8 in the morning

430

u/DaringDani123 6d ago

Plus, the original text was sent at 3am making it definitively "today"

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u/AJ_Deadshow 6d ago

It's "today" when it turns 12:00am, contrary to popular belief, and the manager's a fucking idiot.

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u/PissMissileTopTitty 6d ago

Probably? I'm willing to bet everything I own they didn't see it till 7-8am

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u/jaykhunter 7d ago

Absolutely. "Can you work today?" - the next shift you'd usually work

"Can you work tomorrow?" - a full day after that.

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u/technobrendo 6d ago

If they are gonna text you at that time, they should be very specific in their wording. Not just tomorrow, but tomorrow (8/28/26) would go a LONG way to prevent any confusion

135

u/NotNeuge 7d ago

The time between isn't the point. That it was still today is. Staying up past midnight doesn't keep you in yesterday.

27

u/GroteKneus 6d ago

Staying up past midnight doesn't keep you in yesterday.

Well, when we're at home on a Wednesday and we're going to bed at 00:30 and I tell my wife that we're going to do x y z tomorrow, nobody ever thinks I mean Friday.

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u/GustapheOfficial 7d ago

I don't know, that could be an honest mistake by blue: you're not checking the watch to see if the shift is today or tomorrow, you just think of it as "tomorrow". The stupid part is getting the text at 8 and not confirming the date you meant.

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u/NotNeuge 7d ago

Getting a text that was sent in the AM of today, asking about tomorrow? Why would that need to be confirmed? Both are today. Surely a manager arranging shifts should possess some level of attention to detail?

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u/jefesignups 6d ago

Also it looks like they responded at 7:44am. So tomorrow would mean tomorrow

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u/Diligent-Sherbert-33 6d ago

So true I had a similar situation got a text from colleague to do something tomorrow.

At night 1 AM . I checked it in the morning I said ok. In my mind tomorrow was the next day as the message had a timestamp before it and a label which said today.

So I was called multiple times on that day but I was out

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u/Superseaslug 7d ago

I mean look at the timestamps. Boss asked about tomorrow at 2AM. That mistake is on them

1.9k

u/int-devaul27 7d ago

He is technically correct, which is the best kind of correct.

990

u/Ptbot47 7d ago

not even technically. its just correct. If the boss wanted him to work today, then just say TODAY.

270

u/MathamphetamineUser 7d ago

And for crispinglovers sake make the request at a reasonable hour or I'm not even looking at it.

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u/Mm11vV 7d ago

100% this. I wouldn't look at anything from anyone at my work past 8pm, let alone 2am.

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u/Crix00 7d ago

As soon as I clock out my workphone is left alone until I clock back in again. So yeah I wouldn't even have seen this lol.

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u/Florac 7d ago

I literally have my work phone on mute from an hour after I typically work until like 30m before I typically start work

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u/Polygnom 7d ago

I even have my personal phone set to sleep mode from like 8pm to 8AM. There is practically no reason at all to contact me that late or early. And if there is an urgent reason, the very few people who would need to get a hold of me now my landline number. Which would wake me up. I can count the number of ppl. who have that number on one hand. Literally.

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u/ProfessionalAd6530 6d ago

8? I do not communicate with work outside of work hours. If I even have to remember you exist, you'd better be paying me for it.

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u/Polygnom 7d ago

I mean, texting is asynchronous. If I text someone at 2AM, I do not expect them to read it before morning.

So if its 2AM, and you text tomorrow, and the person read it in the morning, then tomorrow really means tomorrow. Either you say today.

Now, if its like 23:30, and I can't wait til after midnight, I would personally write: "Hi, I know its late, so you probably only read this tomorrow, but can you come to work the same day (<day of the week>)?" so its really unambiguos.

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u/hajasmark 7d ago

I can imagine it is a restaruant or pub or anything like that where nobody know what work-life balance means.

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u/RoyalInitiative7718 7d ago

Being just correct is technically still being technically correct.

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u/omisin 7d ago

Which is technically still the best kind of correct.

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u/Evening_Horse_9234 7d ago

If I was asking would probably emphasize that can you work this morning if I am writing at 2:30 AM

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u/ahhhnoinspiration 7d ago

They should have went with morning to avoid the most confusion

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u/VinnzClortho 6d ago

My boss started putting the date in the ask to make this clearer

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u/Own-Dig-9652 7d ago

A lot of people consider tomorrow to be after they sleep.

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u/Galromir 6d ago

Those people are wrong though. The concept of today and tomorrow are unrelated to when they happen to sleep. 

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u/a_roadie 7d ago

I hereby promote you to grade 37.

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u/SrFrancia 6d ago

You're never gonna guess what subreddit we're on

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u/jomasthrones 6d ago

I see your Futurama joke and am here for it, but this goes beyond technically correct, the first poster in this text chain is a moron.

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u/SquirrelMoney8389 7d ago

Yeah if I'm receiving a message when I wake up in the morning just before 8AM that says "can you work tomorrow" I'm at first thinking "I'm not working today".

(But then if I checked the timestamp and saw when it was sent I'd maybe intuit what the manager meant. Possibly...)

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u/jarlscrotus 7d ago

Nah, if you message me after 10 you better be real fuckin exact, and literal, because I am

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u/KaiserJustice 6d ago

damn straight - especially when everything is in writing, i will print that shit out if i have to

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u/fishsticks40 6d ago

One can see where each of them was coming from but ultimately it's the manager's job to make sure they're being clear in their communication. 

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u/Loeris_loca 6d ago

And the worker replied at 7:44. Imagine waking up, seeing a message "can you work tomorrow", when it's actually "can you be here at 9"

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u/ztupeztar 7d ago

I’d say it depends on the job. If I, as a bartender, receive a text at 2 in the morning asking about «tomorrow», I’ll assume it refers to the evening the same day, as that would be the «next» workday.

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u/Particular_Safety569 7d ago

It literally says in the post 9-5

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u/ztupeztar 7d ago

I often work 9-5. Just not the usual 9-5, the one the other side of the clock.

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u/Impressive_Recon 7d ago

This is really about how people normally understand schedules, not the type of job.

If someone is regularly scheduled from 6pm to 2am, and their manager texts them at 2am asking them to work “tomorrow from 9am to 5pm,” any reasonable person would understand they meant the following calendar day. There is no reason to assume the manager meant 9am later that same morning.

If the manager wanted them to come back at 9am that day, they would simply ask, “Can you work 9am–5pm today?” If the employee was already scheduled for a morning shift, the manager would more likely ask whether they could work a double, not refer to it as “tomorrow.”

The same applies if a coworker texts at 2am asking someone to cover their “6pm–2am shift tomorrow.” The natural interpretation is the shift starting at 6pm the next day, not 6pm later that same day.

Using the word “tomorrow” means the next calendar day. If they meant the current day, they should have said “today” or just the shift.

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u/SudsierBoar 7d ago

?? Yea that's why it's posted on the sub

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u/Ye_olde_oak_store 7d ago

where are you?

Im so sorry. I cannot sleep I cannot dream tonight.

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u/jpthe83 7d ago

I need somebody and always, this sick, strange darkness comes creeping on, so haunting every time.

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u/Greedy_Air468 7d ago

And as I stared I counted the webs from all the spiders. Catching things and eating their insides

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u/telluswhyyoureclosed 7d ago

Like indecision to call you, and hear your voice of treason

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u/johnnycrazycakes 7d ago

Will you come home and stop this pain tonight?

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u/RockitDanger 7d ago

Stahp theis payin tonoight

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u/FastSmile5982 6d ago

Don't waste your time on me

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u/Ok-Perception-9296 6d ago

You’re already the voice inside my yhead

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u/sarothwin 6d ago

You're already

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u/No-Region-3654 7d ago

I got a message from a landlord who needed to drop in and make repairs. At 11:40pm to let me know that they would be there first thing int he morning. I didn't trust the landlord so I took a day off work the next day so I could be home. They never showed. I complained to the real estate who got back to me and said, they assumed you would read it in the morning and then assume they meant the following day, so it's my own fault for reading it when they sent it.....

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u/whittenaw 7d ago

Holy crapola

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u/JustMeLurkingAround- 5d ago

When I read this shit I'm always so glad to be in europe where we have tennant rights and landlords have to give you notice ahead of time and are not allowed to have a key or unsupervised access to your home.

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u/VioletPhoenix1712 7d ago

Always. Always. When confirming a date for something important, do not use an ambiguous term such as “tomorrow”. Because what may be “tomorrow” for you may be “today” for who you are talking to. Confirm exactly with dates.

“Can you work tomorrow, Tuesday August 28th?”

End of questioning. Do not be ambiguous. Be exact.

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u/Inside-Nebula5325 7d ago

At least when writing someone at 2 in the morning expecting them to be at work at 9.

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u/DrakeFloyd 6d ago

At that point “I know it’s short notice but can you come in to work 7 hours from now at 9am” would be most clear

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u/Saneless 6d ago

I work with a lot of people in Europe, +6-7h. Sometimes in my chats in my afternoon I'll say something like "Hey, can we look at this tomorrow (8/27)?" Just to be sure. I don't know if they'll see it at night or when they get in

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u/StoneyBolonied 6d ago

I play video games with a few people in the states/Canada and always give times in UTC to avoid confusion, especially as I never remember which state or time zone or daylight savings everyone is in

E.g. "I'll be online at 19:00 UTC"

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u/WendellSchadenfreude 6d ago

“Can you work tomorrow, Tuesday August 28th?”

Just to clarify: you mean the day after tomorrow, right? August 28th, which is a Friday, not a Tuesday.
It won't be Tuesday, August 28th, until 2029.

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u/ForemostPanic62 6d ago

Your work doesn’t give work notices 3 years in advance?

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u/KiwiEel 7d ago

That's not technically correct. That's just correct.

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u/Tasik 6d ago

Which is also technically correct.

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u/KiwiEel 6d ago

Technically, yes.

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u/BenjaminDover02 7d ago

No fucking way am I responding to some shit at 2:30 in the fucking morning FOH.

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u/OzyTheLast 7d ago

Look at the time stamps, he didn't

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u/Loneheart127 7d ago

Worse, the boss expected him to.

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u/Speshjunior 6d ago

Why is anyone’s boss messaging them at 2.30am?

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u/Musesoutloud 6d ago

This is the real question. No boundaries.

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u/drloser 7d ago

Here's how it went:

  • 2am: the employer asks if the employee can work "tomorrow"
  • 7:44am: the employee reads the message...

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u/jxhfield 7d ago

but even if the employee read the message at 2am, 9am the same day is not “tomorrow”

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u/Derezzed87 7d ago

And at 7:44, employee probably didn't read the timestamp on boss's message, especially if it was employee's day off (which I'm assuming it was).

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u/Aternox_X1kZ 7d ago edited 6d ago

Even if the employee read it at 2:31, tomorrow still means the day after, not as soon as the sun rises.

ETA ffs, date is a mathematical absolute value, this is not subjective

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u/Derezzed87 6d ago

100% agree with you. If I got a message at 00:01 asking if I could work tomorrow, I'd take it to mean the next day.

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u/Aternox_X1kZ 6d ago

If it was that close to midnight, perhaps I'd ask the proper day number just to be sure, but otherwise, yes.

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u/Askln 6d ago

messaging an employee at 2 AM is diabolical in itself

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u/Forsaken-Hotel7535 7d ago

It is not only technical correct, it is 100% without any doubt correct!

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u/terrortara 7d ago

I love that the employee isn't even being a smartass here he's totally in the right.

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u/Tiny_Performance4310 6d ago

I had the same situation with an interviewer (PS: we’re in different time zones and he knew this). At 2:00 AM my time, he said, “If you’re interested, I want you to join a trial shift at 7 AM(my time).” Imagine my surprise when I woke up at 9 AM to that message. I told him unfortunately that wasn’t possible, and he left me on read. Two days later, he asked, “Can you join from 3–11 PM?” It was already 4 PM my time 😭 I told him I was no longer interested and that he should work on his communication skills

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u/Visual_Face5413 7d ago

If you live in a decent country this kind of behaviour by management would be frowned upon

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u/Timely_Pattern3209 7d ago

I've never known something being frowned upon stop a manager from doing it. 

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u/Klort 6d ago

Lack of 24 hours notice earns the employee penalty rates in most fields of work here. Management do not like paying penalty rates, so there is that. Plus the worker gets a decent amount extra for the stuff around.

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u/Jaggermarster 7d ago

That's why I always use dates like, "no I won't make it tomorrow September 15th, 2016"

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u/ultegrafender 6d ago

Working 9-5? What a way to make a living.

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u/existenceincarnate 6d ago

This is why one should say day of the week, and the date.

Wednesday, August 26th.

Leaving no room for misinterpretation prevents future conversational calamity.

Someone will still misinterpret regardless how hard you try. Yet you'll have the texts to show you made an effort for clarity.

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u/JFranklin-42 7d ago edited 6d ago

While the message was sent at 2:30 the response was at 7:44. They woke up to a message in the morning asking them to work "tomorrow". Of course they thought it meant the next day.

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u/tehnoodnub 7d ago edited 6d ago

This definitely a case of poor communication. Boss should have been clearer, employee should have realised clarification was needed. But yeh, technically the employee is correct.

Edit: too many comments to respond to but I'll say a few things to try and cover everything. I am not a manager nor have I ever had to manage anyone. If I'm being honest, it sounds like there are a lot of people who have been burned by bad managers and have developed a defensiveness or even a generally acrimonious attitude toward managers in general. I say this because the prevailing attitude seems to be that the employee can weaponise the vagueness of the employers message. I have never had a bad manager and value good working relationships with my manager, and I would want to clarify a request if there was any uncertainty, because it benefits everyone. I want to know what I'm agreeing to so I can earnestly respond. We can also make inferences all day long about whether or not this particular manager is bad/toxic but even if they are, the employee could have just said no to the request. I'm also curious as to what people here would do if it was someone on the same level asking for assistance, like a friendly colleague asking for a shift to be covered, rather than a manager. I suspect people would be more inclined to clarify, which is telling to me.

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u/hoTsauceLily66 7d ago

I always attach the day of the week to avoid confusion even if it's tomorrow. Sometimes also attach the date.

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u/GottaUseEmAll 7d ago

Yeah, I always do that when emailing. Even if the date/time I sent it is clearly visible, I don't know when it will be read and how much attention the reader is going to pay to the little details.

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u/Legendary_Bibo 6d ago

It's how things are communicated here at my workplace, even if we me mean 3 hours from now we'll say something like 11am day/month/year. Sometimes you have dumb bosses with poor communication skills and they'll tell you to meet them at some approximate time and when you clarify a time they get annoyed probably from their inability to recognize their own ineptitude but that's usually unlikely.

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u/D1RE 7d ago

No, this is not a both sides issue. Manager communicated poorly, period. It's not on the employee to second guess their manager. They are literally not paid to do that. Manager needs to learn to communicate properly. Use proper time and date, not something vague like "tomorrow 9-5".

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u/Josefuuu 7d ago

you wake up and it says can you work tomorrow, your brain says yeah i can do that without really thinking about it

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u/AstroBlast0ff 6d ago

Honestly, asking someone to come into work for a 9-5, not a part time shift while contacting them at 2 in the morning to ask is kind of insane behavior

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u/TJ_McWeaksauce 6d ago

I would hate to work someplace where the manager thinks it's cool to contact you in the middle of the night. Boundaries are important.

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u/Emm_the_Ravenclaw 5d ago

“9-5” 😢 everything reminds me of Dolly

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u/B1TCA5H 7d ago

That's 100% on the guy on the left. If I were in their position, I'd have asked, "Can u work 9-5 today?" instead.

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u/ReversedNovaMatters 7d ago

I've seen this a few times posted and I'm just thinking now about how fucked it is to ask someone at 2:30 AM to work on your day off 5 hours later.

And also how funny it would be if the receiver was scheduled to work the following day already.

This is a great example of why my phone goes into do not disturb every single day between midnight and 8 in the morning. I also couldn't imagine someone texting me like this and even expecting a response if I hadn't. I do it mostly to avoid being woken up by some dumbass "Hey you got $2 off a meal" text at 2:30 AM

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u/Infamous-Candle-2300 6d ago

One person should have been more precise. The other should have confirmed. Unless the goal here was "why the fuck are you texting me at 2:30AM while I'm sleeping for my day off." in which case I'm fully on-board with the pedantic response.

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u/DarkestOfTheLinks 6d ago

ugh, reminds me of my manager when i worked subway. fucker would change the schedule and not tell anyone, then yell at people for not coming in. threw a massive fit when i just texted back the original schedule id taken a picture of.

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u/countzero00 6d ago

It is the managers fault, but I can understand both. In my mind, if I stay up late, the next day starts not at midnight but more like 4 or 5 am. But if I got that message and read it at 7 am, I would definitely assume the next day.

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u/Ok_Representative274 6d ago

Classic communication misstake. Always use dates and time for clarification.

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u/HermionesWetPanties 6d ago

I once was asked to drive someone to the airport. I asked what time he needed to be there. He told me, "Three."

I assumed he meant PM. I woke up to find he'd meant AM.

Worst part? We were both in the military and knew 24 hour time. He assumed '3' was good enough for 0300. I assumed no way this asshole would ask me for a lift on the weekend if he thought I'd be sober enough at 0200 to drive him.

I have since recalibrated to always specifying the little details and always using military time. Time zone can be assumed, but is still a consideration worthy of noting if it can become a factor.

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u/knightbane007 6d ago

Yeah, I’m with you, sorry. “Three” is NOT sufficient to specify 0300, even if both people are sober.

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u/geGamedev 7d ago

Ah good old third shift dilusion, where days start and end whenever you happen to wake up - completely arbitrary. Sure would be nice if everyone just stuck to midnight for the start of a new day instead.

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u/JustChr1s 6d ago

This wouldn't have been a problem for me as I wouldn't have even answered....

People really out here answering work messages at 2am and you're not working graveyard?

Guy really asked someone at 2AM if they could work 9am-5pm on the same day....

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u/Scrubtac 6d ago

I must always point out when this gets reposted that it is an edit of the original conversation where the boss said "10-4" but the reposter mistakenly thought that referred to the hours and edited it to say "9-5" instead.

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u/maeshughes32 6d ago

I had an argument with my dad on Monday. He asked if I could take him shopping next weekend. I assume next weekend means not this weekend but the following. Am I wrong in this sense?

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u/Chas_- 6d ago

English isn't my native language, but its kinda fun to see how this is an international thing.

If you look up the definition "the next weekend" means indeed the one following after - even on a Monday. - By the strict grammar rule "the next" means "the subsequent one in a sequence". Since the week just started, some rigid speakers view the upcoming weekend as "this weekend" and the one after as "the next weekend".

The everyday reality: If it's Monday, the next weekend (on the calendar) is the one coming up in five days. Which most people naturally mean because of the distance. On a Monday the weekend is so far away "this weekend" and "the next weekend" often get used interchangeably.

As the week goes on this distance will shrink and the meaning will also shift - "this weekend" > the days happening now and "the next weekend" > the following week. But everyone handles this shift a bit differently and it becomes a total communication trap on a Monday.

Long story short: Ask your dad which one he was talking about lol

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u/KawaiiGee 6d ago

This is why I like using the date+time format, zero ambiguity. The only time I wouldn't is when it's the same day, in which case I wouldn't use the word tomorrow

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u/healthydoseofsarcasm 6d ago

230am would get no response, fuck that noise.

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u/pvkreddit 6d ago

Tomorrow means the next day, not before you sleep. Otherwise that's just subjective.

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u/MadamPardone 6d ago

I would have seen this coming from a mile away and immediately had them clarify which "tomorrow" they are talking about.

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u/Ayotha 6d ago

I would block a boss that messaged at 2:30 am

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u/Finbar9800 6d ago

Can you work tomorrow?

I can but i wont

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u/Realmofthehappygod 6d ago

If that's not what tomorrow means that what would asking to work today mean?

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u/Timely_Spinach_7479 6d ago

The way I’d make it clear on so many levels that texting me at 2am in regard to work is not going to happen, would get me fired before my shift even started.

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u/Ksorkrax 5d ago

Nah. The technically true variant would be to be like "well, you asked me if I *can*, which I truthfully answered positively, but we never established that I *will*".

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u/TheHornyGoth 5d ago

Unfortunately my brain is on pub time. It’s the same day until I sleep.

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u/Greenfire32 6d ago

You know how to avoid situations like that from happening?

"Can you work 9am to 5pm on <date>?"

Especially if you work at a place that has shifts that cross over midnight. "Today" and "Tomorrow" are completely meaningless in those circumstances.

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u/DazzlingTopic529 7d ago

Yes I can, should I?

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u/BL1NKK_BL1NKK 7d ago

Can you show us the response they had.

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u/Sufficient-Tea-1025 7d ago

Well, technically he’s not wrong

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u/FunkyYoghurt 6d ago

If my boss messaged me at 2:30am I think I'd go postal. Ludicrous behaviour.

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u/bronzethunderbeard_ 6d ago

Expectations of employers in a nutshell

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u/Forward_Criticism_39 6d ago

probably tired but yeah no mate, you should have thought about how you phrased that

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u/Wicked_Wolf17 Technically A Flair 6d ago

Yup, boss is in the wrong here

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u/Chunquela-vanone 5d ago

Just because I can doesn’t mean I’m willing to.

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u/No_Exercise269 5d ago

I would do the same

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u/TheLastOpus 5d ago

This is on the manager, sending a message at 2 a.m. you know they will wake up to "tomorrow" and that will be obviously tomorrow, they should have clarified day of the week at least.