Report outlines countries adopting practice focused on work-life balance
At any point of time in a weekday, somewhere in the world, workers are enjoying a right to disconnect.
That includes much of the Americas, many EU countries and even outliers such as Kenya and Kazakhstan, according to an article from Dentons, which have taken measures over the last 10 years to give their workers the right to switch off after hours.
However, the world’s first and second largest economies, the U.S. and China, have not followed suit – though a “freedom to switch off” bill is currently before the legislative assembly of the state of California and many US companies have their own policies for employees, says the law firm.
Australia, of course, has recently enacted right to disconnect legislation.
“Observers could be forgiven for thinking that Australia was blazing a progressive trail, but in reality, we are late entrants to the global disconnect party as governments and workers across the world wrestle with the demands of the 24/7 digital age,” says Samantha Thomas, law graduate at Dentons.
Where is the right to disconnect implemented?
According to Dentons, other governments that have introduced legal measures related to the right to disconnect include:
Governments that introduced policy measures include Ireland and the Philippines, as reported by Dentons.
In Australia, Senator Barbara Pocock said last year that the right to disconnect will make a difference for employees who are not paid for being available and who donate many unpaid hours to their workplace.
"This change will help workers protect their mental health and improve work-life balance. It will especially help those in insecure jobs who need that legislative backup," she previously said.
Research in 2023 found that remote employees who were being contacted by their employers after hours experienced extra levels of stress and depressive moods.
"On days where managers intruded, employees reported high levels of job tension, work stress, and they reported high levels of depressive symptoms," Professor Mayowa Babalola from RMIT University previously told The New Daily.
In Ireland, a 2022 study by University College Dublin concluded that the presence of the ‘right’ alone was insufficient, and that laws and policies must be combined with awareness raising, effective implementation measures, ongoing joint monitoring and review by management and employee representatives, as well as measures to tackle the causes of over-connection, says Thomas of Dentons.
The following actions were implemented by employers to ensure the implementation of a right to disconnect:
