‘Right to disconnect’: Positive, negative, or neither?

The upcoming “right to disconnect” laws that will give employees a legal standing to not answer work-related communication outside working hours has staunch supporters on both sides of the fence. Who really benefits from this legislation, and who loses?

As previously discussed by HR Leader, employee wellbeing could see a boost through these amendments, as employers’ hold over their staff is stripped away.

The changes will “prevent employers from contacting employees outside of work hours and provide that employees are not required to monitor, read or respond to work communications from their employer outside of work hours”, said Parliament.

This could be major in mitigating employee burnout by allowing employees to truly enjoy their downtime without the pressures of work to hinder it.

The Greens’ workplace relations spokesperson, Barbara Pocock, commented: “This will mean better mental health and work/life balance for millions of working families. A healthy workforce is a productive workforce.”

Not everyone is as positive, however. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton spoke out against the reforms, claiming the decision would be bad for the economy. “If you think it’s OK to outsource your industrial relations or your economic policy to the Greens, which is what the Prime Minister is doing, then we are going to see a continuation of the productivity problem in our country,” he said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese disagreed with these sentiments: “What Peter Dutton wants is lower wages, more taxes on low and middle-income Australians and to continue to wind back any reforms that are made in the interests of working people.”

There are a few countries around the world that have right-to-disconnect laws in place, such as France, Belgium, Portugal, Italy, Spain, Ireland, and Kenya. France was a trailblazer in this area, which enacted legislation back in 2016.

Interestingly, studies have shown that France’s decision has actually contributed to increased productivity and wages.

Despite this, those who could be worse off are the nation’s small-business owners. And with 97.3 per cent of all businesses in Australia (or around 2.5 million) being small businesses, the effects could be significant.

“We are gravely concerned that the proposed legislation will harm all business owners and operators, especially growing ones. The legislation will also impact the prospects for the very employees that it purports to protect. It will damage the communities that are reliant on the growth and resilience of local businesses,” said the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

“We cannot allow industrial relations laws to make it harder for hard-working business owners to generate the wealth we enjoy as a nation. We cannot allow industrial relations laws to make it harder for small-business owners to grow, create valuable jobs, and invest in skills.”

There are clearly staunch opinions on either side. Others are not so certain and are sceptical about the effects this legislation will have. One such commenter is Damien Andreasen, vice-president APJ at HiBob, who believes changes should address employee wellbeing more holistically.

“I’m sceptical as to whether the right to disconnect will achieve its goal of ensuring employee wellbeing … The right to disconnect isn’t a silver bullet for employee wellbeing. I’d argue the new law will play a relatively small role in improving overall employee wellbeing compared to the other things employers should be doing, like offering autonomy, flexibility and a clear career progression path,” said Andreasen.

“The good news is that after over a year of significant economic uncertainty, burnout and layoffs, many organisations in Australia are actively looking to improve employee wellbeing without being prompted by legislation – especially with regards to autonomy. In our recent research into young Australians in the workplace, we found that half of employees say they have independence and aren’t micromanaged, and over half feel trusted to get on with their jobs.”

He continued: “However, there’s still work to be done on the flexibility side … On balance. though, employers’ efforts into employee wellbeing are heading in the right direction, as four in five young Aussies state they’re happy with their work/life balance and a whopping nine in 10 are satisfied in their role. That bodes well for organisations as the right to disconnect comes into effect.”

Whether for or against the right to disconnect, the precedent it sets could have everlasting impacts on the way we work. Time will tell whether it will be for better or worse.