OP, if you don't want to be the one to make a stink, you could just tell them that you don't have enough data coverage to handle work email. that way, they should get the hint that if they want you to have it, they should pay for it.

OP here,
Thanks for all that responded. Frustrating day at work which was topped off by that obnoxious request. I appreciate that advice people gave and will use the reasons next time I am asked about it.
I am fine with colleagues calling my work phone when they need me. However, this is virtually never, as pp said...I am not a neurosurgeon. "Emergencies" in the association world are a scare thing.

"If you have trouble with your compensation, it is time for you to look for a new job. Otherwise, it sounds like your directors may someday realize that you are a employee that is not willing to put in extra effort for them. You will probably need to leave at some point anyway if you cannot adapt."

Read that as do things for free. Most of these after hours emails are a waste of time and not time dependent.

Anonymous wrote:My work email is only on my Blackberry. Only my personal email comes to my iPhone. My iPhone is not secure enough for work email. I wouldn't mix the two.

How does any of this apply to OP, who a) does not have a work-supplied phone and b) doesn't seem to care about security?

They should pay for it OP if you are expected to check it. I disagree with those who chided you.

My work email is only on my Blackberry. Only my personal email comes to my iPhone. My iPhone is not secure enough for work email. I wouldn't mix the two.

If you have an objection to doing so, state the objection. "All that data would send my cell phone bill through the roof." or "I just don't have the willpower to NOT check work emails during my off-hours." (with a self-deprecating smile)

I DO have the willpower not to look at work email when I don't want to. But I still have it enabled on my phone, for MY convenience. When I want to send an email saying that I'll be in late today, all my work contacts are there. A couple times a year, members of my team travel abroad and I need to be available to them 8 times zones away. That's fine, and part of my job. But most of the time, I only look when I want to. It helps to keep the alert for that account turned off most of the time. It neither beeps nor puts up a "new mail" icon for work stuff.

I totally disagree with this by the way:

"If you have trouble with your compensation, it is time for you to look for a new job. Otherwise, it sounds like your directors may someday realize that you are a employee that is not willing to put in extra effort for them. You will probably need to leave at some point anyway if you cannot adapt."

If you are on vacation, YOU ARE ON VACATION, and should not have to check email all the time, and there is something wrong with company culture or the dept/manager, if they regularly expect that from you, unless there are some unusual circumstances. You are not a slave.

When you are taking PTO, your manager should not be asking you "will you be checking email". There should be a back-up person or plan for every planned absence.

OP, I agree with you. In a position where you are paid 50k a year, you are not a neurosurgeon who needs to be on call when you are not in the office.

The trick is to be quiet but firm about it. If anyone regularly expects you to be checking email on your time off or at night, the company should pay for a phone. I would argue for that before adding it to your personal phone.

Just don't answer the phone when on vacation, and most people will have boundaries about it.

I did this at one of my jobs....volunteer to have work email come to my personal phone and it was a disaster. I was in time for a week vacation and they bothered the hell out of me via work email.

Came back and promptly deleted it from my phone then quit the following month.

I refuse to work anywhere that requires u to be on 24/7.

*Cell phone number

OP Here. And right after I sent this, an overachieving new employee sent an email to the entire office listing my cell phone.

Do I really have to come to terms with the fact that I pay AT&T $100 a month to be available to my mid range association 24/7?

I don't think work has to be part of your life 24/7. I do think it's professional to be available for urgent matters, but that doesn't have to mean checking your email every 5 minutes. If you were willing to be called on your vacation, that seems as though you are already being available.

I think you need to realize that this is the way the workplace operates now - that work is part of your life 24/7. And very few people get paid enough to deal with it in the grand scheme of things, except our Big Law Partners (who themselves are probably doing conference calls from their vacation spots in Bali at 4 am).

If you have trouble with your compensation, it is time for you to look for a new job. Otherwise, it sounds like your directors may someday realize that you are a employee that is not willing to put in extra effort for them. You will probably need to leave at some point anyway if you cannot adapt.

Hi All,
I work at an Assoication in a management role. I make a little under 50K a year for 9-5 M-F. plus about 250 overtime hours a year that are not compensated otherwise. I receive benefits but none that apply to my cell phone/smartphone.

It has recently become trend in the office for my coworkers to volunteer to include their work email on their personal smartphone. I work in an office of less than 20. I don't know if they find it convenient or they are sucking up, or they are just stupid. However in my last job, I was paid to put my work e-mail on my phone (they paid the data) and I hated it. Every time I went to my phone (which is usually when I am not working), I would see some stupid work email and all of a sudden, I found myself working.

Now, I get questions from directors and colleagues in the office about this. Today I reminded a director that I was headed out of town on PTO, the first question was "will you be checking email?" I responded No. People are welcome to call with problems but I will not be checking email. People from work also email me things and then expect me to read them while not at my desk, assuming that I am getting them on my phone. I don't want to be the one to take a stand and make a scene. At the same time, I want to scream "I AM NOT PAID ENOUGH TO BE ON CALL 24/7 WHILE I PICK UP THE BILL". I really enjoy my work/personal life divide. It is one of the reasons that I work in my field. I don't want my phone to deliver annoying work emails to me when I'm watching Dr. Phil or making dinner with my family.

I would appreciate any perspectives on this, thanks!