According to a recent survey, around 90% of workers support legislation that would permit them to turn off their email and other communications after work.
More than 1,100 American workers were surveyed by researchers from EmailToolTester.com about the impact of regular work emails and messages on their personal and mental health.
According to the findings, employees use digital communications for an average of two hours and forty-five minutes per day. Over half (52%) of respondents stated they manage digital correspondence for more than three hours a day, and 13% claimed they do so for five hours or more.
As a result, the workers are increasingly flustered with the time commitment, as evidenced by:
- 79% feel dread when opening their email inbox.
- 81% report feeling anxiety over email correspondence, with 59% experiencing it regularly.
- 71.1% said they’re expected to respond to emails after hours.
The impact is not limited to the workplace. Approximately two out of three employees and four out of five CEOs and business owners reported having trouble sleeping because of work emails. Furthermore, 74% of those surveyed said that burnout from work-related interactions caused them to communicate less with their loved ones.
In April, the California Assembly’s Labor and Employment Committee advanced legislation (A.B. 2751) that would ensure workers have uninterrupted personal time by establishing a “right to disconnect” from after-hours calls, emails, and text messages. The bill is before the Appropriations Committee.
Despite workers’ concerns, 71% of those surveyed said they believed their employer would resist such measures.
Right-to-Disconnect’ Legislation
Here is what the “Right to Disconnect” covers according to Fairwork Australia;
Employees of non-small business employers have the right to refuse to monitor, read, or respond to contact (or attempted contact) outside their working hours unless doing so is unreasonable. This includes contact (or attempted contact) from an employer or a third party.
Tip
Third parties could include clients, suppliers, staff from other businesses, or members of the public.
Contact could include a range of communication channels used to engage with employees, such as calls, emails, texts, social media, and messaging services.
Employers and employees are encouraged to discuss contact outside of hours and set expectations that suit the workplace and the employee’s role. Find Tips for discussing out-of-hours contact.
When working out whether an employee’s refusal is unreasonable, the following factors must be considered:
- The reason for the contact
- How the contact is made and how disruptive it is to the employee
- How much the employee is compensated or paid extra for:
- being available to perform work during the period they’re contacted, or
- working additional hours outside their ordinary hours of work
- The employee’s role in the business and level of responsibility
- The employee’s circumstances, including family or caring responsibilities.
Other matters may also be considered.
It will be unreasonable for an employee to refuse to read, monitor, or respond if the contact or attempted contact is required by law.