Rig ight to dis isconnect Stelmart Khalil Assistant Director, - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Rig ight to dis isconnect

Stelmart Khalil Assistant Director, Wellbeing & Support People & Standards Division

Presentation Overview

• Right to disconnect – a definition
• Why is this an issue?
• Some statistics
• Examples of good practice
• Way forward?

Right to disconnect – a defi finition

• Refers to a worker’s right to be able to disconnect from work and

refrain from engaging in work-related electronic communications, such as emails or other messages, during non-work hours

• This concept has developed as a result of advancements in

communication technologies and its impact on people’s daily lives

• The expectation that workers are available at almost any time for
• nline or mobile communication is now considered to be potentially

hazardous to workers’ health (Eurofound, 2019)

Why is this an issue?

• Feeling of overload through constantly checking our

devices, decreased interaction with family

• Always on culture is affecting mental health (University of

Limerick)

• Makes it hard for people to struggle with boundaries – the

flashing light becomes so integral to our sensory experience that we feel discomfort without it (Psychiatrist Priory Hospital Kent)

Why is this an issue?

• Diverts people away from their job, engages them when they

should be resting at night and at weekends

• May affect productivity if workers are constantly checking

their social media, personal emails, etc. There is increased concern on this phenomenon, which may be very difficult to control and manage

• Harder to stay focused and efficient if constantly checking

phone/emails (Financial Times, 2019)

Statistics

• Two-fifths of adults looked at their phones within five

minutes of waking up & more than half said their devises interrupted face-to-face conversations with family and friends (Ofcom UK Communications Regulator)

• A quarter of American adults were almost constantly online

(Pew Research Centre)

• Half of respondents admitted they had a constant need to

check their phone (Deloitte long running UK survey)

• Globally, social media usage is 2.3hours/day from

1.5hours/day 5 years ago (Kliener Perkins Report)

Examples of good practice

• El Khomri Law - France. Introduces the right but does not define it, allowing

companies to choose the most practical ways to implement the right taking into consideration the nature of the business

• In Italy - Article 19 of Law No. 81/2017, specifies that the written agreement

between worker and employer must also regulate the rest periods to guarantee the worker’s right to disconnect from company devices

• In Luxembourg, the introduction of a legal right to switch off is the subject of

debate, exemplified by a public petition (petition 1057) launched in July 2018.

• In Germany, Volkswagen was reportedly the first company to implement a

company-wide freeze on out-of-hours emails in 2012. The car manufacturer set its internal servers to not route email to individual accounts between 18.15 and 07.00. Many other companies have since followed suit

Way forw rward

• Is legislation the only way forward? May not work for everyone
• What about organisations developing guidelines that promote a

balance between wellbeing and the benefits of being connected?

• Some tips may include – respecting worker’s rest time, clear

leadership modelling behaviour, discouraging ‘reply all’ emails if not absolutely necessary, and reminders that periods of switching

• ff can be very beneficial psychologically
• Promoting awareness that employees who may be experiencing

difficulties to switch off they can ask for help

• Other work-life balance measures already in place (Public

Service)