Why You Should Respect Your Employees' Right to Disconnect

Are You Respecting Your Employees’ Right to Disconnect?

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Working from home can be a beautiful thing for employees and companies alike. The benefits of remote and flexible work are well-documented: increased productivity, lower costs, environmental upsides, and scheduling flexibility, to name just a few.

A definite downside, though, is when an employee’s right to disconnect from the office falls by the wayside. That can be a common scenario when managers don’t respect the rights of their employees to disconnect from the office once the workday is done.

The right to simply unplug work-related technology after hours, without punishment, has become a major issue in France, Spain, Italy, Germany (where employers are self-regulated), Luxembourg, and elsewhere in the European Union, as well as in the Philippines.

The movement has prompted passage of “Right-to-Disconnect” laws that give workers the right to not respond to calls, emails, or work directives after established work hours and to do so without fear of retaliation from their bosses. France was the first country to approve a right-to-disconnect law in 2016, and other European countries, including Ireland, are discussing how to follow suit.

Support Employees’ Right to Disconnect

Efforts to pass right-to-disconnect laws are making their way to the U.S., but the effort hasn’t gained much traction so far. In New York City, a proposed right-to-disconnect law that would allow workers to refuse to answer work emails after hours has stalled. However, with the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic and increasing numbers of people working remotely, the right of workers to disconnect has taken on new urgency.

Even before the pandemic took hold, what it means to be “at work” had become a more fluid concept thanks to technology that allows increasing numbers of jobs to be done remotely. The prolonged nature of the pandemic has forced even more employers into the remote work fold as working from home has become widely mandatory.

But it’s not just the pandemic that is fueling the right-to-disconnect trend. There are myriad reasons why laws supporting the rights of employees to turn off work makes good sense for workers and is practical for employers as well.

Beyond the general best practice of supporting healthy work-life balance, laws that protect workers’ right to disconnect show respect for both their careers and their personal lives.

4 Reasons to Allow Employees to Disconnect

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The “firewall” between working and not working has been breached by technology, but that doesn’t mean managers should demand off-hours work just because they can. If your organization is looking to justify pulling back on requiring work to be done even after the workday has ended, there are many reasons why standing down can be a sound decision.

1. Supports Work Flexibility

If your company is keen on successfully implementing work flexibility, a companywide “right-to-disconnect” policy can formalize your intention, help support it for all employees at all levels, and stake your support for work flexibility at the ground level. Employees will know that rather than having a never-ending work schedule, they have a degree of discretion over when the day stops and starts, and when the work gets done.

2. Prevents Employee Burnout

A Swiss-based organization is citing digital disconnection as a way to avoid burnout and return to a model that’s closer to a traditional eight-hour workday, even virtually. UNI Global Union, a global union federation, has launched a worldwide effort to encourage disconnecting from the job as a way to “combat the anxiety, depression, and burnout often associated with a constantly connected world of work.”

3. Helps Employees Do Their Best Work

A well-rested employee is usually an employee who’s more prepared to go full steam ahead when it’s time to work. Employees who are never “off the clock” can feel as if they’ve never fully had a chance to unwind, which in turn can lead to poor quality of work, more mistakes, and missteps that can affect your organization’s overall effectiveness.

4. Respects Employee Privacy

The expectation that your workers should be available to respond to work demands around the clock, and even while they’re on vacation, shows a disregard for employee privacy and can trigger worker backlash in unexpected ways. Managers who pepper employees with emails and calls during family events, or even during family meals or leisure time, may encounter employee retention problems if workers look to move to other organizations where their private time is more respected.

Ways to Help Employees Disconnect

Even in the absence of laws that formally require managers to allow employees to disconnect, there are steps organizations can implement that can support digital disconnection and help companies relinquish the “electronic leash.”

Set Boundaries

A formal remote work policy that sets forth your organization’s rules for when work is expected to be done and when the workday begins and ends can be among best practices to consider. Employees will appreciate knowing where they stand on digital disconnection. Managers may also be given the discretion to request additional hours or time commitment for special projects or tight deadlines, but always with the consent of the employee.

Avoid Punishment or Retaliation

A key feature of the regulations passed in several European countries is that workers are protected from punishment if they act on their right to disconnect from work. Those regulations include protection from retaliation, such as failure to consider an employee for promotions, pay raises, or inclusion in important projects because the employee has acted on the right to disconnect.

Follow an “If It Can Wait” Rule

Managers can help free their employees from feeling guilty by establishing a policy that gives workers the discretion to decide whether to respond to an after-hours email or task. Such a rule empowers the employee, enforces work flexibility, and truly embraces digital disconnection outside of the workplace as an accepted company policy.

Make the Right to Disconnect a Permanent Policy

During the pandemic, some companies have put policies in place that are temporary, with the expectation that things will go back to normal when the crisis subsides. If your organization has such “just-during-the-pandemic” strategies in place, avoid making the right to disconnect a temporary policy. Make clear that the right to digitally disconnect from work is a lasting and permanent approach that can have a positive effect on the overall health of employees and the long-term health of your organization.

Establishing a Right-to-Disconnect Policy

Formally establishing a right-to-disconnect policy for your company will support your employees who want to unplug as needed from an around-the-clock workday. It may be well worth your time and effort to establish formal digital disconnection guidelines that ensure a more rested and inspired workforce and a more dynamic work culture.

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