Should we have the right to disconnect?

France has done it. So have Italy, Ireland, Germany and Spain. Recently Belgium did it too. Now there are moves in Australia to do the same. We are talking about the right to disconnect from work after hours.

Out-of-hours work contact increased during pandemic

The phenomenon of employers contacting employees outside working hours has grown steadily with technology. Everyone is reachable at all hours through emails, texts and calls to mobile phones.

It means many employees can never really switch off from work, adding to stress and exhaustion. A work email or text that arrives during dinner, late at night or on weekends sits there, demanding an answer. Failure to respond could risk your job.