Mobile phones

I've had two emails from people who say that in exchange for having a work-issued mobile phone their respective bosses want 24/7 access to them. One writes: "My boss calls me at home at all hours and has even woken me up. The issues prompting the calls could easily wait until the next day but he reckons that if I have an office mobile I must remain available to answer work calls. Is that right?"  

I think your boss is being unreasonable. What kind of a job is 24/7? Maybe being Prime Minister or head of the Australian Defence Forces and even then let's hope Kevin Rudd and Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston get the odd night to themselves. Office tools are not an excuse to reach into your personal time. I do believe flexibility goes both ways though. If that means an employee has to take the odd call about a matter that won't wait or deal with a customer out of hours, then so be it.  

However, late night calls that could wait until morning are unacceptable. Both readers need to let their respective boss know how the constant calls are causing them stress. Initiating a morning catch up inside office hours to allow the boss to unload all those seemingly urgent matters might also be a good idea. The boss might not realise it, but this behaviour could be seen as a form of bullying. At the very least, it certainly sounds controlling.