Right to Disconnect laws a reminder of the need to redesign how we work

Changes in legislation do not suddenly happen. They are often driven by big social movements and require all sides of business, industry, and governments to align with them, writes Dr Cecelia Herbert.

The new Right to Disconnect laws are yet another example of legislative change that reflects a shift in broader expectations in the employee/employer relationship. And while it’s encouraging and positive to see this change come into force, to meaningfully resolve the challenge it is designed to address, it must be accompanied by a bigger rethink about how businesses operate and how individuals work in today’s always-on, always-connected, and hybrid workplaces.

Conversations about new ways of working are often heated, as seen in the fall-out from the NSW government’s shift in its work-from-home strategies. However, when you look closer at the reasoning behind any workplace change, it is rarely about when and where people work – rather, it’s about how teams connect, how employees collaborate on a project or piece of work, or how performance and productivity are measured. These are challenges best solved through a greater strategic focus on rethinking roles and organisational design for the current world of work.

The urgency at which we address these issues has never been greater. To achieve their intended outcomes, these approaches must be human-centric and address systemic challenges that employees face, or else they will be considered tone-deaf and worthy of backlash. Alongside the new Right to Disconnect legislation and broader employment law change, workplaces are navigating new working models like the four-day work week, increasing representation of younger generations in the workforce, and growing adoption and advancements of AI in the workplace. It’s a lot.

My advice to executives, HR leaders, and people managers is that we currently have a unique opportunity to build on the momentum these changes trigger – go beyond compliance where poor employee experience is considered a risk, but frame improved experience as essential for sustainable business performance. If done well, businesses can get ahead of broader shifts taking place. This change can become an area of strength that drives increased value – from productivity through to retention – and stands the organisation in good stead ahead of future changes.

Making new approaches work for everyone

A frequent saying in HR and leadership circles is one size does not fit all. This is particularly true when it comes to working models and policies designed to treat everyone “equally” but, as a result, fail to accommodate individual differences and restrict organisational capacity to adapt to dynamic environments.

There is no doubt that how people collaborate, communicate, and work together as a team are the defining elements of sustainable performance. With so much change happening, organisations must be intentional about redesigning the future of work, especially how we effectively facilitate human connection – and this is going to look slightly different for each company and across different teams within those organisations.

While there is no one-size-fits-all solution, there are general principles that guide decisions and work redesign processes.

The place for leaders to start is to listen to employees. Understand what it takes to get their work done and what they need to deliver the best results. For instance, knowing what drives engagement and productivity for specific groups of employees is going to direct resources to targeted programs that have an impact and become a huge strategic advantage for organisations nurturing high-performing teams. Qualtrics research shows lifting engagement and productivity, especially for frontline employees, often involves removing complexity from systems and processes, as well as creating opportunities for employees to learn and grow.

It might sound simple, and even unrelated to the wider discussion, but empirical insights into experiences that really matter to employees can generate cost-effective solutions that address issues at the root cause or before they even begin. They provide the foundations upon which everything else is built. It also ensures there’s a focus and commitment to set individuals, teams, and the entire organisation up for success by linking people’s programs to tangible business outcomes.

Technology plays an important part in rethinking ways of working – particularly solutions for collaboration and productivity. But it’s less about what we use and more about how we use it. To demonstrate this, it’s valuable to remember the office itself is, in its most simple form, a communication tool – a place established for workers to come together, which inspires new working norms and practices.

The same mindset needs to be applied to modern communication and collaboration expectations, as well as the habits and tools we use to get work done. It’s not enough to give everyone access to a new technology and hope people will figure things out. This new legislation shows that there is a demand for a reset on standards of practice, especially when employees do not feel empowered to set these boundaries alone.

These changes remind us of how important it is to maintain principles of equity in decisions about new ways of working t. Equity means that we cannot treat everyone the same way and expect equal outcomes. It assumes that every worker will have their own individual response to the changes being introduced, and so organisations need to build flexibility into their models to ensure every person and team has access to the opportunities and resources they need to do their best work.

Invaluable business intelligence

There is no single answer to helping organisations design new, impactful ways of working. Every organisation has a unique mix of people, products, services, and markets. However, no matter the challenge you are trying to solve, there is one common source of information that every organisation must find their own answer today: their employees. Employee insights are one of the most valuable business intelligence tools any organisation has, helping to inform faster, better decisions across the organisation. They know your customers and business better than anyone – and when they thrive, so does the organisation.

These regulatory changes are just one element being deployed to address the increasing complexity of work. But complex issues require iterative and adaptive solutions, which is why listening to employees, and co-creating the future of work with them, is one of the most impactful ways to secure organisational success into the future. Preferences change. Individual circumstances change. Cultures change. Economies change. Laws change. Each of these facets, and more, impacts how work gets done. Organisational resilience will be determined by leaders’ capability to continuously learn what teams need to be successful at work and use these insights to rapidly adapt.

Dr Cecelia Herbert is the principal behavioural scientist at Qualtrics.