The new law is a contentious issue for many Canadian leaders
The right to disconnect law just recently came into focus following the legislation of the Working for Worker Act in Ontario. While the rule is designed to improve work-life balance for employees across the province, it’s also a sticking point for many employers who’re unsure as to what they can and cannot request of the teams outside of work. HRD asked three industry leaders their thoughts on the Act in our latest Head-to-Head.
Dr. Jarik Conrad, VP of the human insights and HCM Advisory team at UKG
"The right to disconnect is a pretty contentious issue for employers. At its core, the concept isabsolutely correct. People are working more overtime than ever before, due in the most part to remote work and COVID. We can see that employees are stressed, anxious, and burned out, having to be constantly available for calls and emails from colleagues and managers alike. I do believe that some organizations may have been taking advantage of the remote working setup – and have been contacting employees when they really should wait until the next day. For that reason, I believe that some sort of rule needs to come into place that protects employees and promotes more work‐life balance. However, I’m not too sure if the ‘right to disconnect’ is the right choice. Do we really want a rule that hampers flexibility? Employees have enjoyed choosing when and how they work – and normally, that will be outside of regular hours. For working parents, one of the best times to reply to emails is after they’ve put their children to bed. I ’wouldn’t want a law that hampered that flexibility for personal work and the hours that an individual finds most effective. There’s no denying that organizations need more stringency when it comes to off-duty contact leading to overwork – however, implementing a right to disconnect is only masking the underlying issue. If your employees are calling for a rule to prevent late-night emails, it’s time you looked at your culture and your values. Why are your managers contacting their teams late at night? Why are you allowing your people to become depressed and undervalued? That’s the real issue here – and one which requires self‐reflection rather than legislation."
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Nadia Ghani, human resource generalist at The War Amps
“The benefits of the right to disconnect law is an increased work-life balance and enhanced mental well-being. On a personal level, I used to have this worry that if I not constantly available, and worrying that my other colleagues are, I will be considered less serious and as someone who does not care about work or promotion. This used to make me absent minded at times – both at home with my family and in the workplace. Having the right to disconnect makes me more present in the moment with my family and as a result I’m a better employee. I’m more productive, happy and have more energy to do the things I enjoy. The right to disconnect is an assurance that you will not be judged for not being present after hours – ensuring you have the time and space to relax and recharge.”
“Employees are already protected under the Employment Standards Act. There are already laws about time free from work, daily and weekly maximum working hours that apply to most workers etc. The new rule doesn’t give any additional rights to employees to disconnect from work beyond what the Act already provides, however it should encourage employers to set certain expectations around work-life balance. The easiest route for employers to take would be to say that employees don't have to engage in work related communications during their daily meal periods, or beyond their daily and weekly maximum hours of work allowed by the Act,” “That’s the bare minimum. But realistically, employers will tailor the policies to their own individual business needs and to reflect the type of work environment they want to foster. For instance, I expect employers who are trying to espouse the good values of work life balance saying that after a certain time of the day, employees don't need to check their emails, if that is practical. Or, they may say that employees do need to check emails, but don’t need to respond to anything that isn't urgent. The policy has to apply to all employees, but it does not have to set the same rules for all employees. A customer service representative at a retail store and the manager would be bound to the same policy. The manager, however, will likely have different responsibilities where disconnecting from work is not possible or practical.”
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