Always on: work messages after hours

It is his daughter Ilma’s seventh birthday in their Gulshan 2 flat, and the cake from the bakery is half gone when Fahim’s phone buzzes at two minutes to midnight. “Fahim, Eid campaign deck needs small changes by 9am. Thanks.” Fahim, 35, a brand manager, is already opening his laptop. His wife Mou takes the phone from his hand and drops it into the rice tin. “Tell your boss the phone is in the chal. He can call the chal.”

The aunts laugh. Fahim laughs too, and then fishes the phone out of the rice ten minutes later. He tells his brother-in-law, “My boss’s WhatsApps come at midnight.” They also come at Friday lunch, at his nephew’s aqiqah, and on the beach at Cox’s Bazar, where he spent the holiday refreshing his inbox. His heart jumps at every notification now, even from the family group, and he lies awake composing replies.

An illustration drawn from common experience. The person is invented; the pattern is not.

Understanding after-hours work messages

Being always reachable is not a diagnosis, but it removes something the mind needs: psychological detachment, the chance to switch off from work and recover. Without it, stress stays switched on through the evening and the weekend. Over time this can feed poor sleep, irritability, family conflict, burnout and, in some people, an anxiety disorder such as generalised anxiety disorder or a depressive disorder. WHO lists long, unsocial or inflexible hours and conflicting home and work demands among the risks to mental health at work.

How common it is

We did not find a peer-reviewed study that counts after-hours work messages in Bangladesh. The closest solid evidence is on long hours: in a meta-analysis of 189,729 people in 35 countries, working long weeks, usually 55 hours or more, was associated with new depressive symptoms. Across all 35 countries the association was small (1.14); it was moderate in Asian countries (1.50), weaker in Europe (1.11), and not found in North America or Australia.

Signs worth noticing

• Checking work messages first thing in the morning and last thing at night
• A jolt of anxiety at every notification
• Holidays and Fridays that never feel like rest
• Sleep broken by thinking about work
• Shortness with your spouse or children when they interrupt
• Tight shoulders, headaches or a churning stomach most evenings

How care helps

A psychiatrist looks at whether ordinary stress has become an anxiety disorder, depression or insomnia, and treats what is found; CBT is commonly used for persistent worry and for sleep problems. Practical change matters too. In a meta-analysis of 30 studies with 3,725 people, interventions designed to help people switch off from work improved detachment by a modest amount, and longer programmes did better. Another meta-analysis found that holidays had a large effect on well-being, and that detaching from work and being physically active during the break may help most. At work, the useful steps are often simple to say and hard to do: agreed reply times, notifications muted at night, and a clear line for what is truly urgent. WHO recommends that organisations, not only individuals, change the conditions behind the stress, for example through flexible working arrangements.

What getting better can look like

For Fahim, it might be a message to his boss: “I’ll pick up non-urgent things at 8am; for emergencies, please call.” Notifications go silent from ten at night. At Cox’s Bazar next winter the phone stays in the hotel while he walks Ilma along the beach at Inani.

Common questions about after-hours work messages

Is it normal to feel anxious every time my phone buzzes?

Many people who are always on call for work notice a jolt of tension with each notification. It is a sign that the mind has not had a chance to switch off, not a diagnosis in itself. If the anxiety is constant, spreads to other worries, or affects sleep for weeks, it is worth seeing a doctor.

How do I stop thinking about work at home?

Switching off is a skill, and research shows that programmes designed to build it can help. Set a time after which work messages wait, turn off notifications, and put something physical or social between work and home, such as a walk or a meal with family. If work thoughts keep you awake most nights, CBT can help.

When to see a psychiatrist

If you have not felt rested in months, or worry about work is affecting your sleep, health or family, an assessment can help separate stress from an anxiety or mood disorder. If you have thoughts of ending your life, call 999.

Care here is personal: built around your history, your health and what you want to change, and reviewed with you as it goes.

Sources

• Virtanen et al., Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health, 2018 (PMID 29423526)
• Karabinski et al., Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 2021 (PMID 34096763)
• Grant et al., Journal of Applied Psychology, 2025 (PMID 39836131)
• WHO, Mental health at work, fact sheet, 15 September 2026