Man Says Management Apologised For Sending Work Email At 6 AM, Sparks Debate

A viral social media post has highlighted the stark difference in work cultures between the Netherlands and the US. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), a user talked about their experience, saying that they sent a work email at 6:00 am, which prompted the management to call a meeting to discuss whether they were experiencing undue work pressure.

The Netherlands is known for its work-life balance standards, with employees typically working 29-36 hours per week. The country's labour laws prioritise employee well-being. Not just the Netherlands, it's also quite common for employees in Europe to maintain clear boundaries between work and personal life.

The post was shared with a screenshot of another similar post on Reddit, which mentions an incident involving an employee in the Netherlands who works for the Dutch branch of a large US tech company. The employee wrote about their experience with a manager who had recently joined.

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First time I sent a work email at 6AM in the Netherlands, they called a meeting to discuss whether I was experiencing unnecessary work pressure of any kind, and they apologised if they gave me that impression 😂😂 https://t.co/MhO2Pa1aEB

— Equivocator™ (@Oluwanonso_Esq) January 5, 2026

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"We recently got a new middle manager based in New York. He seemed like a nice guy at first, but it turns out he is totally obsessed with 'hustle culture,'" the employee wrote on Reddit. The employee said that they had a 1-on-1 meeting with the manager, who was "concerned" about dedication to the team.

From logging out at 5:00 pm to not responding to emails during weekends, the employee listed the issues the manager had. "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. And 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," the post read.

The post further mentions that they had to remind the manager about the country's labour laws. The employee said that they told HR when the manager threatened them with a Performance Improvement Plan.

"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," the post further read. "Since then, he hasn't sent a single email after 5 PM."

Social Media Reaction

The incident sparked a debate on social media, with many comparing the Dutch work culture to the "hustle culture" in the US. "My manager called me out because I was uploading my notes at 10pm. She told me it worried you are taking on too much and working too much. I was in the gym in between work hours," one user said on the X post.

"Fair enough. But there's a reason this guy was working at the Dutch branch of a US tech company instead of the other way around. Reality is Europe isn't building unicorns (except Spotify). You get work life balance. We get rich," another user weighed in with a different perspective. 

"Reading this after spending extra time at work to close an alert. Americans really need a better work-life balance. But have you been to South Korea?" a third wrote.