Will The Right To Disconnect Become The New Reality?

The right to disconnect refers to a worker's right to be able to disengage from work and refrain from participating in work-related communications, such as emails and WhatsApp messages, during non-working hours.

The increasing prevalence of the importance of the right to disconnect has resulted from the increase in work-related communications which are being experienced by various workers across the board during the evening and on weekends. The daily use of smart phones, most of which are in fact given by the employer to the employee, have made this practice the norm. So much so, that at some point, there was also the understanding that an employee who replied to emails and messages over the weekend or out of working hours, was considered a star employee. Studies today show that a constant work schedule is in fact linked to inefficiency and bad time management. There was also an expectation set by some employers that being available 'at all times' is a must. Today,