Slacker’s charter or wellness boost? ‘Right to disconnect’ worries employers but may improve health

Dr Carys Chan, a senior lecturer in organizational behaviour and human resources at Griffith University said surveys showed work-related technological use after office hours was contributing to stress, anxiety and depression.

The new law was a good reminder “to force people to think whether that message or that communication has to go out after hours,” she said.

While there might be a period of adjustment to the legislation, respecting privacy and giving employees time to recover would benefit productivity, Dr Chan argued.  

“Obviously in the long run if your employees are well rested and have the option to disconnect from work after hours, a lot of them will have better wellbeing,” she said. “And if you show your employees understanding I think they are also more likely to reciprocate through increased loyalty by staying.”

Proponents of the law also cite its limits.

It does not currently apply to small businesses of fewer than 15 people and outlines factors that determine whether communications outside of working hours is reasonable, including the urgency of the situation, method of contact, seniority of the employee and adequate compensation.  

Dr Andrew Dhaenens, from the University of South Wales business school, predicted that industry objections would be “very short lived.”

“You won’t really see a lot of changes for most workers, but you will start to see companies being a little bit mindful about how they are writing job descriptions to make sure that employees know where their responsibilities are as far as answering the phone off the clock,” he said.

Employers would likely better define working hours, work/life balance and compensation for responsibilities, he said.

“Whether we admit it or not it’s a sort of quiet working right and the right to disconnect law is a good way to enshrine an Australian working value that we all sort of take for granted and that we would expect most people to have,” he said. “That’s why it is so important to actually put it into legislation.”

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