I've always wondered why online faculty are expected to work 7 days a week. On-campus faculty don't work 7 days week. Why is teaching online a 7-day a week job? For most of us it has certainly turned out that way. Of all the schools I've taught for over the years (and the ones I still teach for), only two do not require 7-day a week availability. Those two state to online students that faculty will answer questions (in the class or via email) within 48 hours during the business week, NOT counting weekends and holidays. The rest of the schools tell students that online faculty WILL respond within 24-48 hours to any email or class questions.
I'd really like to NOT work on Saturday or Sunday and want at least ONE day free when the rest of the family has a day off. Well ... a day free except for answering emails and any questions in the class Q&A forum. But then isn't that "working"? Answering emails and class questions can take a good couple of hours sometimes, especially when there's a major assignment coming up.
For me, either Saturday or Sunday works as long as I let my students know which day I will not be available. Of the two weekend days, Saturday would probably work best because most students don't even start working on their assignments until Sundays so they don't even know what questions to ask until the day the assignments are due. Working a few hours on Sundays is okay because in many classes, I can get an early jump start on grading assignments because SOME students do turn in work early.
In another post, I'll cover taking vacation while teaching online. For more strategies for working in a day off each week, check out
Online Teaching forAdjunct Faculty: How to Manage Workload, Students, and Multiple Schools
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