Loyalty should only be 9–5

Hate the game, not the player

Cliffs: If an employee regularly works after business hours, it’s because they should want to, not because it is something management has come to expect just because they can call you at home 24/7 with unrealistic expectations of personal access. Let them have a side-hustle and/or a fulfilling life.

Gunnar, a founder of Thrive Market, was my boss at one point for a company called Virtual Media Vision. He called my ever-present mobile phone a “digital leash” and emphasized that my mental health would be compromised if I allowed people to yank that leash at all hours because I stupidly thought it made me more valuable. Booty calls, not duty calls.

I kept answering calls and doing pet projects for company value I did on my own time and he is pretty much living his best life compared to what I could have done if I listened.

So there are times where I have had a side-hustle that has brought in a non-trivial amount. I contributed to some things and because my name is attached and I am the only contributor that could be contacted, I get a retainer. Paid W2 for a period to support things because a company didn’t have the ability to 1099. Understand GNU/licensing:

Doing things that make you happy, even if it is something like you do for pay, it should not be them-or-us from your employer. It’s like being paid to upskill. Things like this make you more valuable, don’t act like we are cheating on you.

So in summary, anything we do after hours, so long as it is not competing with your day job, it’s nobody’s business but mine.