Keri

Like you, I am very fortunate to work out of my home office.  When I am not traveling or in front of my clients, I can work anytime of the day or night in my ‘jammies’ if I want to (unless of course Skype is in our future at which point I will need a Glamour Shot photo to place on the camera). My office beckons to me 24 by 7 just a few short steps from where I sleep, eat and play with my family.  I have three computers in my office – their shiny flat screens all lined up in a row. One is for BSG work, the second is used mostly for personal networking and the third one is pretty much reserved only for storing and playing with my photos - but always ready to jump on the web if drafted.

Neurotic? I think not - others may snicker but I think it expands my multi-tasking productivity immensely when I can have multiple points of reference available to me when I am on the line with my clients.  And let’s face it - it makes me sound so smart!   So between my own personal control center and my Blackberry there is virtually no reason for anyone to ever say they can’t reach me – and I like it that way.  I was thrilled to be challenged with the concept of monthly ‘annual’ calls and warp speed activities – it fuels my sense of urgency and in turn responsiveness.

So what are ‘reasonable hours’ in our world? And is it is right to expect the same level of responsiveness from everyone?  Maybe not because all of our situations are different – but I do think it is a clear differentiator and that there is significant advantage to those who drink the kool aid.  As a baby boomer thinking about 'retiring her retirement', I find that the lines between my personal world and my choice of professional relationships and activities are a little less defined than they used to be and that my satisfaction with my whole life is now a balanced blend of both.  I like to think that I'm hitting my stride in terms of productivity and fulfillment and this ‘online - real time - all of the time’ culture and responsiveness has a lot to do with it. 

Lorie

Keri,

Brave question, thanks for asking.  For me there are three parts to my answer:

• First, boundaries.  In all facets of life we need them; work / life balance is such a facet.  Each individual should understand their personal boundaries for responsiveness and stick to them.  For me, my job (leading a software organization) is naturally 365x7x24 so I'm ok with being needed and responsive at wierd hours. 
• Second, fairness.  Without equitable treatment, nobody's happy. Does your compensation justify the weekend work?  Is your employer getting extra labor without paying?  In my case, the balancing tradeoff for a 365x7x24 job is flextime.  Busy peaks are matched with extra downtime.  On the final ledger everyone wins - I work when my company needs me and I have sufficient downtime to feel fairly treated.
• Third, process improvement.  Why does somebody need you on the weekend?  There's no such thing as an "unexpected weekend", so how should we improve our planning and scheduling so work gets done during regular work time?

As others have noted, great question!  My unequivocal answer - NO!  But...  We should each make our own choices based upon the dynamics of the moment - there are weekends where I definately want/need to be "disconnected."  I'm not referring here necessarily to an Internet connection - with Blackberry's et al, there's hardly ever a reason to not be connected if you so desire.  I'm referring to those weekends where you either mentally need to disconnect, or where you have family/friend commitments that deserve your full attention.  I want to feel free of any conscience with regard to not being responsive.  The other side is the nature of the request - if the need is sincere, could not have been better anticipated, and has real urgency to it (as opposed to the fake urgency some people attach to every request), then, within the limits of the above-stated need to disconnect, I will happily "go the extra mile" to help out a colleage.  But that should not lead to an expectation that being available each and every weekend is the norm. 

On the other hand, there are many weekends where I don't need to "disconnect."  In those cases, I'm happy to respond, engage, and do whatever is need, or that I want to do.  I do that not because I feel I have to, but because I want to.  I enjoy (most of) the work, I enjoy responding to and helping a well meaning colleague who makes a well-articulated and reasonable request.  I believe that what goes around, comes around.  If I am generally responsive to people, they will be responsive back.  If I allow myself to be abused by disorganized people, who wait till the last minute to make requests, always need the response "in the next hour", and are so inarticulate about the request that I have to waste time trying to decode it, then I'm being taken for a sucker.  As a mentor taught me many years ago - don't collude with dysfunctional behavior!

I'd also point out that your "weekend" question is really just a special instance of "how responsive do I need to be."  Again, what goes around, comes around.  Treat others as you would be treated.  Do what you say you will do.  I think these principles work pretty well.