Co-Authored by Bailey Fraser
With growth of flexible and remote working arrangements in an increasingly connected world, the line between work and personal life has never been more blurred. The resultant expectations for many to be accessible outside of work hours serves to exacerbate the burnout and mental health issues attributed to overworked employees across Australia.
However, the introduction of Right to Disconnect laws on 26 August 2024 (2025 for small businesses), presents a significant shift in how Australia approaches work-life balance and digital connectivity.
So, what implications does this shift have for employers and employees, and does it have the capacity to change our workaholic culture?
How will these new laws work?
For eligible employees, the right to disconnect gives employees the right to refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact from an employer or third party. Attempted contact outside employee working hours is also covered. However, this right only applies if the employer’s contact is deemed unreasonable on the basis of several factors including (not limited to):
- The reason for the contact
- How the contact is made and how disruptive it is to the employee
- The nature of the employee’s role and level of responsibility i.e. high-level managers are more reasonably expected to respond to after hour emails compared to an entry level worker
- The employee’s personal circumstances, including family or caring responsibilities
- Whether the employee is compensated for their availability to perform work within a specific period or working additional hours outside their ordinary working hours.
How will this impact work-life balance?
A primary goal of this right is to promote a separation of a person’s professional and personal lives by enabling individuals to fully disconnect from work during their personal time. This will ideally result in reduced stress levels, improved mental health and enhanced overall wellbeing, etc. by giving individuals more time to spend with family and pursue non-work interests.
Concurrently, by minimising interruptions after hours, employees can focus their personal time towards resting and recharging. This can facilitate increased job satisfaction and work output as employees are more likely to return to work more energised and efficient the following day.
Long-term, the right to disconnect could enable cultural change as organisations will be motivated to adjust work and communication practices to maximise efficiency during working hours. This could promote a culture that fosters efficiency and rewards individuals based on their output during work hours instead of their capacity to send late night emails.
What are the potential downsides?
For the right to disconnect, hyper connectivity raises an issue in the form of our heavily globalised business environment. Where differing time zones and international partners are integral for business function, many Australian companies will need to take additional care to balance their global business needs with the employee rights.
Furthermore, productivity could be compromised for fast paced industries such as finance or law which thrive off rapid communication and dynamic problem-solving with legal enforcement of disconnection limiting responsiveness of employees.
Finally for the individual, paradoxically right to disconnect laws could create new pressures for employees who might be worried about the perception disconnecting might have on their managers or peers. This could result in increased anxiety about job security or career progression.
Has the right to disconnect movement being successful overseas?
Australia isn’t the first to implement this type of legislation. The right to disconnect movement has gained significant ground across Europe with similar regulations adopted in countries including Italy, Belgium, Spain and mostly notably France, who pioneered the movement in 2016.
According to research from EU agency, Eurofound, right to disconnect policies in these aforementioned countries have been attributed to overall improvements in wellbeing and work satisfaction. In fact, 92% of the workers surveyed for this research reported high levels of job satisfaction following the implementation of the policy.
However, the Eurofound report determined no substantial cultural change in the workplace. Therefore, as increased living costs and concerns about job security place significant burdens on employees to put in the extra hours, this presents a challenging landscape for right to disconnect legislation to shift Australia’s excessive work culture.
Only time will tell if these right to disconnect laws are a step in the right direction towards a better work life balance.
For more information on how the right to disconnect laws will impact your workplace, please contact our Employment Law team.
