[blablabla123]

I think employees also need to start taking care of themselves by not following up on every single spontaneous request and also to find something else in time when things turn too toxic.

At least for me I can say that I don't follow up on every single request I get, especially when it's many little ones after "the heavy lifting" is done. Management must also learn that this is not bearable.

Of course one needs to be in a somehow comfortable position and one probably needs a few years of work in the field. Still, for employers it's also a risk to find good (replacement) employees which I have never heard management would admit but seen after leaving positions.

[CalRobert]

This is doable when you have rock-solid confidence that you will never be let go (or you have fuck you money).

Otherwise, there's always gonna be another chump in their 20's who thinks they're just putting in their dues before being able to dial it back a bit, and you're competing with them.

[blablabla123]

At least for me it's not about being protected from getting fired or having a giant pile of money. It's more the knowledge that I can find something, worst case within a week because even today everybody is searching devs like crazy. Of course one needs also enough money above credit limit for going at least a month without income.

[bdamm]

This is it. When employees realize that only they can control what they respond to and what they do not, outside of direct requests from management, then they can manage their time for the life they want. Until then, people stuck thinking they can offload time management to their managers will keep wondering why they’re feeling overworked.