Unionize, refuse to be on call, refuse to answer slack messages outside of work hours. If working in tech, and at startups specifically has taught me one thing it's that urgency is ALWAYS fake, you can put the fire out tomorrow morning. If there aren't consequences for bad planning then the bad planning continues. See also: financial bailouts of pretty much any kind, the cost of mistakes needs to be adequately large.
It's a great thought, but I'd be fired pretty quickly if I tried that. You will also not find a new job with those demands.
You know what I do to offset the after hours stuff? I slack the fuck off all day. It's not like anyone knows what I do anyway. "Hey Alar, what you up to today? -Oh y'know, just getting these switches up to date, gotta keep the packets flowing! Also have some phone stuff to do and getting the servers ready for patching this weekend! -Wow great job!"
Wake up at 8, "check email" until 9. Head to the office to show some face and actually check emails and do communication til 10. From 10-12 follow up with requests and put out any actual fires. 12-130 lunch. 130-330 knock out a meeting or two and then head home to "get my notes together and plan the next day" aka crack open a 6 pack.
I know this isn't always possible, but as long as you deliver SOMETHING every day, no one questions the infra "wizard".
Sure this is a valid strategy, one I've also employed, but I would prefer a world where we can be open about the fact that we don't actually work nearly as hard as we pretend to rather than the current situation. Dishonesty shouldn't be rewarded.
> It's a great thought, but I'd be fired pretty quickly if I tried that.
