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Dutch Worker Gives ‘Annoyed’ American Boss A Reality Check After Logging Off At 5PM
A Dutch employee has reignited global debate over work-life balance after publicly recounting how a newly appointed New York-based manager at their US tech firm attempted to reprimand them for leaving work on time.
The account struck a chord online by illustrating deep differences between labor expectations in the Netherlands and the United States.
Highlights
- A Dutch employee clashed with a New York-based manager after refusing unpaid after-hours work.
- The dispute escalated to HR, which reportedly laughed and sided with the employee.
- OECD data shows the US ranks far behind the Netherlands on work-life balance metrics.
The dispute was triggered by three specific issues: the employee ending their workday at 5 pm, ignoring weekend emails, and refusing unpaid evening meetings.
“I honestly feel bad for you guys in the US,” they wrote. “The fact that you have to apologize for having a life outside of work is insane to us.”
RELATED:
A Dutch employee went viral after recounting their experience working for a New York-based manager
Image credits: Pexels/Chait Goli (Not the actual image)
“Last week, we had a 1-on-1 meeting where he told me he was ‘concerned’ about my dedication to the team,” the worker wrote.
“He didn’t like that my Slack status goes offline at 5:01 pm every single day. He was annoyed that I didn’t reply to an email he sent on Saturday morning until Monday at 9:00 am.
He was especially frustrated that I refused to join a ‘team bonding’ Zoom call that was scheduled for 7 pm my time, which is 1 pm his time.”
Image credits: Freepik/pressfoto (Not the actual image)
The Dutch worker made clear these actions were not unusual in their labor context.
Standard working hours in the Netherlands are typically 36 to 40 hours per week, and the Dutch Working Hours Act sets statutory limits on how long employees may work and requires minimum daily and weekly rest periods.
Image credits: Pexels/Muhammad Fawdy (Not the actual image)
While Dutch law does not mandate a universal legal ‘right to disconnect,’ contracts and collective agreements often reflect cultural norms that respect boundaries around work hours, and mandatory rest periods mean employees must have significant uninterrupted time off.
Image credits: The_TUC
Image credits: WhoTFIsHatman
In the Zoom meeting, rather than apologize or acquiesce, the employee challenged the manager’s assumptions about dedication and time logged.
They told the manager that in the Netherlands, “if you can’t finish your work by 5 pm, it doesn’t mean you are dedicated. It means you are inefficient or understaffed.”
The worker added, “I told him I am neither.”
The matter was escalated to HR after the manager threatened the employee for leaving work on time
Image credits: Freepik/katemangostar (Not the actual image)
The worker went on to remind the manager that their employment contract stipulated 40 hours per week, and did not include nights or weekends.
“My contract is for 40 hours, not ‘40 hours plus nights and weekends,’” the post stated.
The manager, unfazed, attempted to escalate the matter. He threatened the employee with a Performance Improvement Plan over what he saw as poor commitment.
Instead of backing down, the Dutch worker took the manager’s email directly to human resources.
Image credits: Rajatsoni
Image credits: doranmaul
“She literally laughed when she read it and told me to ignore him. She said she would have a ‘chat’ with him about local labor laws,” they wrote.
Image credits: Pexels/Kindel Media (Not the actual image)
The intervention worked. In the days following the HR conversation, the employee reports that the manager has not sent a single email after 5 pm.
The worker’s critique of US “hustle” culture is not unfounded. Especially when taking into account the most recent data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
According to official statistics, the US lags considerably behind other developed countries when it comes to work-life balance
Image credits: Freepik (Not the actual image)
When accounting for work and job quality, as well as work-life balance, the Netherlands ranks at nº 6, slightly behind Luxembourg and Switzerland.
Conversely, the US ranks at nº 28, slightly ahead of countries like Chile, the Slovak Republic and Israel.
According to the OECD Better Life Index, the nº 1 country for both of these metrics is Norway.
Image credits: pictureladyjan
Image credits: rayacerero
“American bosses act like 5 pm is the end of the world, not the start of someone’s life,” a reader wrote.
“I hate managers who don’t care about results, they only care about how much time you put in,” another added.
Image credits: Freepik (Not the actual image)
Others shared personal anecdotes of expected on-call access, after hours messaging, tools deployed to tether employees to their work devices, and psychological pressure.
Image credits: Freepik (Not the actual image)
“My job tries to get you to download Teams and Outlook on your phone for updates’,” one wrote.
“There is one guy who was like, ‘I will never ever do such a thing.’ And they’re like you’re missing out on so much information’ and he’s like ‘who cares.’”
“Oh, leaving early?” another added. “No, I’m leaving on time.”
“The American mind cannot comprehend this,” a reader wrote
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What do you think ?
Alexandra 1 day ago
This is another example of American businesses not acquainting themselves with the labour laws of the countries in which they are present. I believe in Germany it's even illegal to be contacted after hours if you don't have given explicit consent. I've worked for an American business and our domestic HR was very busy telling US-HR that what they wanted to do or proposed to do was simply illegal here.
WubiDubi 1 day ago
If they can't find the country on a map they are unlikely to even consider local labour laws.
Load More Replies...
Tabitha 1 day ago (edited)
I’m 65 now, and my whole working life I refused to work after I was off. If I got behind on something and had to out in extra time, I did it that day and got it out of the way so I could go home and decompress. Same went for the hourly jobs I had. If I needed extra cash or was in a generous mood, I would work overtime—-but I always got paid time and a half for it. AND that was not every day. If it could wait until 9am tomorrow or Monday, then it waited. Management hated that, and I know it cost me advancement in some of the places I worked, but I still insisted on it. Back then I had no idea my attitude was 40 years ahead of my time. I just wanted to have a life away from work. Forgot to say I’m American. Not all of us embrace hustle culture and giving our lives to the company—-who doesn’t give a fat rat’s a*s about us.
Rali Meyer 1 day ago
was there a buring issues, a looming deadline? No? Then 17:00 (yes, yes, 5pm...) is the end of the day.
martin734 1 day ago
It doesn't matter if there is a deadline or not, contracted working hours are all you can be expected to work. If a boss cannot properly timescale a project to be completed within normal working hours then they have no business being a boss.
Load More Replies...
Miss Ann Thrope 1 day ago
The truth is: US workers have zero job protections. So if we need to work unpaid or risk losing our jobs, we do it, then call it "hustle." It's really just fear.
PenguinEmp 1 day ago
Used to have a manager like this. I would turn off at 501 and not do any work stuff until the next work day. I never chatted at 830am on the way to work on teams. I was told I wasn't a team player. No I am a team player from 9-5 m to f
Apatheist 1 day ago
Having worked at a company with American and Asian colleagues, it takes a bit of figuring out and flexibility, but we always managed to arrange meetings, and it's much easier when people are working from home. As long as it's not regular and there's enough notice, no-one should mind staying a bit late or getting up a bit early, as long as they get the time back; in some cases, two meeting were scheduled, America/Europe/Africa, then America/Asia/Australasia, to cover everyone.
Jayjay 1 day ago
The keyword here is: "As long as it's not regular and there's enough notice...". The boss in the post definitely didn't get that message :).
Load More Replies...
Vinnie 1 day ago
Years back, I had a personable and very efficient colleague who left work 15 minutes early every day. No one else cared, except for the business owner. Nag, nag, nag. The efficient one efficiently used his short paternal leave to find another job. His not-so-pleasant replacement worked long hours: 9-5, then evenings to correct the mistakes he made during regular hours.
PenguinEmp 1 day ago
No hr didn't help the worker. Hr helped the worker so the company wouldn't be sued.
Bored Sailor 1 day ago
Americans gees we are all weird. I only do 40 hour work weeks and can do it how I want, 10 hours 4 days doesn't matter. I do not have to ask I say when I am using PTO, and can even go over my limit and earn back the extra I used. So yes all Americans are all the same.
gvizzle_ 74 1 day ago
I’ve told my team that they shouldn’t be checking email outside work hours, so they wouldn’t even know if I send something in the evening or on a weekend. If I log in after hours, that’s my choice and it doesn’t set any expectation for them
Alexandra 1 day ago
This is another example of American businesses not acquainting themselves with the labour laws of the countries in which they are present. I believe in Germany it's even illegal to be contacted after hours if you don't have given explicit consent. I've worked for an American business and our domestic HR was very busy telling US-HR that what they wanted to do or proposed to do was simply illegal here.
WubiDubi 1 day ago
If they can't find the country on a map they are unlikely to even consider local labour laws.
Load More Replies... Tabitha 1 day ago (edited)
I’m 65 now, and my whole working life I refused to work after I was off. If I got behind on something and had to out in extra time, I did it that day and got it out of the way so I could go home and decompress. Same went for the hourly jobs I had. If I needed extra cash or was in a generous mood, I would work overtime—-but I always got paid time and a half for it. AND that was not every day. If it could wait until 9am tomorrow or Monday, then it waited. Management hated that, and I know it cost me advancement in some of the places I worked, but I still insisted on it. Back then I had no idea my attitude was 40 years ahead of my time. I just wanted to have a life away from work. Forgot to say I’m American. Not all of us embrace hustle culture and giving our lives to the company—-who doesn’t give a fat rat’s a*s about us.
Rali Meyer 1 day ago
was there a buring issues, a looming deadline? No? Then 17:00 (yes, yes, 5pm...) is the end of the day.
martin734 1 day ago
It doesn't matter if there is a deadline or not, contracted working hours are all you can be expected to work. If a boss cannot properly timescale a project to be completed within normal working hours then they have no business being a boss.
Load More Replies... Miss Ann Thrope 1 day ago
The truth is: US workers have zero job protections. So if we need to work unpaid or risk losing our jobs, we do it, then call it "hustle." It's really just fear.
PenguinEmp 1 day ago
Used to have a manager like this. I would turn off at 501 and not do any work stuff until the next work day. I never chatted at 830am on the way to work on teams. I was told I wasn't a team player. No I am a team player from 9-5 m to f
Apatheist 1 day ago
Having worked at a company with American and Asian colleagues, it takes a bit of figuring out and flexibility, but we always managed to arrange meetings, and it's much easier when people are working from home. As long as it's not regular and there's enough notice, no-one should mind staying a bit late or getting up a bit early, as long as they get the time back; in some cases, two meeting were scheduled, America/Europe/Africa, then America/Asia/Australasia, to cover everyone.
Jayjay 1 day ago
The keyword here is: "As long as it's not regular and there's enough notice...". The boss in the post definitely didn't get that message :).
Load More Replies... Vinnie 1 day ago
Years back, I had a personable and very efficient colleague who left work 15 minutes early every day. No one else cared, except for the business owner. Nag, nag, nag. The efficient one efficiently used his short paternal leave to find another job. His not-so-pleasant replacement worked long hours: 9-5, then evenings to correct the mistakes he made during regular hours.
PenguinEmp 1 day ago
No hr didn't help the worker. Hr helped the worker so the company wouldn't be sued.
Bored Sailor 1 day ago
Americans gees we are all weird. I only do 40 hour work weeks and can do it how I want, 10 hours 4 days doesn't matter. I do not have to ask I say when I am using PTO, and can even go over my limit and earn back the extra I used. So yes all Americans are all the same.
gvizzle_ 74 1 day ago
I’ve told my team that they shouldn’t be checking email outside work hours, so they wouldn’t even know if I send something in the evening or on a weekend. If I log in after hours, that’s my choice and it doesn’t set any expectation for them
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