What is the Right to Disconnect?Donald Trump Inauguration
The Right to Disconnect Bill, introduced by NCP MP
Supriya Sule, is trying to give employees the right to not respond to employers’ calls, texts or emails after office hours. The idea is to help reduce work-related stress and strive for a better work-life balance.
How will it work?It will apply to companies with more than 10 employees who will have to set up an Employee Welfare Committee to ensure compliance. The bill also says that no disciplinary action can be taken against you if you choose to not respond to your employer after your stipulated work hours.
Global Turn-Off* France was the trend-setter when it comes to these policies — employees have had the right to disconnect since 2017 in companies with more than 50 employees. The country’s minister of labour said the aim was to re-build the boundary between professional and personal life.
* In Spain, regardless of the number of employees, all companies must create right to disconnect policies. New York is also mulling over such a bill.
* These out-of-work correspondences don’t just apply to the workday, but also to holidays. German car and truck maker Daimler made the bold step of introducing software that automatically deletes any emails you get while on vacation, back in 2014.
Why is this even necessary?BACKGROUND ANXIETY: Always being connected has been taking a toll on workers the world over, studies show. William Becker, from Virginia Tech, has been working on the role of technology in the wellbeing of workers. He found that even if workers aren’t actively checking work emails after hours, they can still be harmed by the expectation that they should be available. Becker says that this kind of “always on” work culture creates anxiety amongst workers.
NO DOWN TIME: A 2016 study found that always being on call is linked with decreased calmness, mood and energy levels. “Non-work hours, during which employees are expected to respond to work issues, constrain employee behavior and cannot be considered leisure time,” said the authors of the study that was published in journal Work and Stress.
BAD SLEEP: Another study by researchers from Northern Illinois University showed that workers who answered work-related emails after 9pm had worse quality of sleep.
But don’t get your hopes up…Are you dreaming of sitting back, relaxing and putting your phone on silent when the workday is over (or even put it on airplane mode, if you’re feeling rebellious)? These hopes may be premature as it’s a private member’s bill, and no such bill has become an Act since 1970.