Now, imagine being able to put down your phone at 5 p.m. and know that you don’t have to check any work messages until the next workday. Well, the government of Belgium, along with several other nations, are taking that idea to heart. As of Feb. 1 a new law was introduced in Belgium permitting civil servants not to answer work phone calls, emails and texts after work hours. They are allowed to completely shut off without any recrimination. How great would it be to put down your phone at 5 p.m. and know that you don’t have to check any work messages until the next workday? According to The Brussels Times the exception is “in the event of exceptional and unforeseen circumstances requiring action that cannot wait until the next working period.” Petra De Sutter, the Belgian Minister of the Civil Service announced that this “right of disconnection” is a necessity. It combats the thinking that employees must always be on call. This is especially true since the pandemic when so many employees are working from home and the lines between work life and time off are blurred. According to The Brussels Times,De Sutter said in a letter, if people cannot disconnect from work, “the result will be stress and burnout, and this is the real disease of today.” De Sutter added that disconnecting from work “is linked to positive well-being outcomes such as better focus, better recuperation and a more sustainable energy level… To better protect people against this, we now give them the legal right to disconnect.” Just last week, the government of Belgium has expanded employee disconnect initiatives. In a new labor reform package all workers, not just civil servants, will be legally permitted to ignore work-related correspondence after the workday. (The package also will allow employees to opt for a four-day work week!) “Now all Belgian workers, including those in the private sector, will receive the same right,” said Belgian labor minister Pierre-Yves Dermagne in a press conference. “The boundary between work and private life is becoming increasingly porous. These incessant demands can harm the physical and mental health of the worker.” In fact, this need to officially separate work and free time has become more of a trend overseas. In November, Portugal created laws that prevented employers to require employees to answer correspondence after work hours. And since the onslaught of COVID-19, Greece and Ireland have considered or enacted similar rulings. So the question remains, how would the United States fair in the right to disconnect after working hours? Would employers ever allow employees to more or less ghost them when they are off the clock? We talked with some career and life experts to get their take on the right—and need—to disconnect.
How important it is for employees to separate work from off-hours in the United States?
Vicki Salemi, Career Expert at Monster: A right to disconnect sounds important to address the deeper meaning of what it represents: striving for work-life balance and not being “on” 24/7 for your job and not experiencing repercussions for not being “on.” For instance, studies have shown that disconnecting, especially during a vacation, creates further engagement, creativity and productivity upon returning to work. Working around the clock can lead to burnout, illness, stress, anxiety, depression and more. It’s important to log off to strive for balance even without an official mandate like this in the United States.
What can people do to embrace this on their own?
Amy Nicole Baker, Ph.D., University of New Haven: Research shows that employees who fully detach from work for a period of time, which would include not answering work correspondence during off-hours, show better well-being and job performance. There appears to be a Goldilocks kind of relationship between the amount of time workers disconnect and their subsequent well-being and proactive behaviors on the job. Too little time away isn’t effective, but too much can make it hard to get back into work. Vicki Salemi: What people can do here is do not wait for a mandate. Lead by example to start setting boundaries and hard starts and stops to the workday, which during the onset of the pandemic created more of a sense of gray. Even if there was a mandate and your boss emails or texts you, it could be challenging to not respond for fear of repercussions, so it’s important for bosses to be cognizant of determining what’s urgent and what’s not — essentially what can wait to address during work hours. There may be certain times during the year when a job requires additional hours like busy tax season for accountants, so a mandate applying to all jobs at all times may need exceptions. It’s important during typical day-to-day responsibilities to aim for a balance as best you can. Jeffrey S. Debies-Carl, Ph.D., University of New Haven: I do think there would be considerable support from many employees and even from employers who are better informed on social science research. There has been a growing problem with work creeping into and overshadowing all other sectors of life in America. This preceded the internet and cell phones, but these, along with the pandemic, clearly exacerbated the trend. The inability to unplug from work, combined with bean counting hours worked, leads to many social and psychological problems. It’s also just plain bad for productivity and morale. Employers who have experimented with more flexible hours and shorter workweeks tend to find that changes like these not only make workers happier, but that they also improve the quality and efficiency of the work they do. Likewise, I think there could be numerous advantages to a law that gives workers the right to unplug, even if there will be cultural and practical issues to overcome.
Would this kind of law fly in the United States?
Maurice “Mo” Cayer, Ph.D., University of New Haven: Would such legislation fly in the United States? Probably not in the near term. Belgium, France and other Western European countries have decades of history in legislation that would be considered pro-worker rights. That’s not true, overall, in the United States, where legislation requiring paid Family Medical Leave can’t even pass Congress. BUT, today’s staffing shortage has given workers enormous leverage in terms of compensation, remote work options, and other desirable benefits, (including higher minimum wages). Employers may “encourage” Congress to pass legislation that is more pro-worker, but I would not see anything like the Belgium laws happening here in the foreseeable future. Amy Nicole Baker: Considering the levels of burnout and the current “Great Resignation” occurring in the U.S. labor force, it’s reasonable to assume that workers would react favorably to a policy that gives them the freedom to disconnect from their jobs without fear of retaliation. Employers may wish to take note that reasonable downtime is associated with better productivity. Next, The 50 Best Remote, Work-At-Home Jobs You Can Get Right Now
