1. In August, Australia joined Ontario, France and several European and Latin American countries in passing a “right to disconnect” law. This law gives workers the right to ignore communications from their employer outside scheduled working hours.
2. The “right to disconnect” targets the growing problems of over-connectedness and over-availability. Most employees nowadays can be reached at any time via mobile devices. This ease of contact makes the division between work and home even more blurry than in the past. Some employees who work from home feel the need to compensate for their lack of visibility at the workplace by being accessible after working hours.
3. To tackle this downside, multiple organizations are beginning to establish clear boundaries between work and non-work time. At first, consultants and team leaders were hesitant — their careers would suffer if they were perceived as not being dedicated due to limited availability outside of working hours. Nonetheless, quite the opposite happened. Having clearly defined hours forced the consultants to work more efficiently, and to better coordinate their work with their colleagues’, resulting in improved client service and higher-quality outputs. The consultants also reported that scheduled time off left them refreshed and energized, which made them more productive during working hours.
4. The researchers cautioned that arrangements like these will only succeed if both employees and employers fully commit to them — consciously avoiding the temptation during time off to send just that one email or finish that last little task. But when the boundaries between work and non-work are respected and enforced, the effects are profound. When employees’ time off really is time off, they can be more productive and efficient at work. And when employers respect the boundaries between work and home, they can build workplace cultures that are more equitable and respectful.