I won’t tell you anything by saying that the pandemic and the massive shift to teleworking have profoundly transformed many aspects of our daily lives. After two years, what about the boundary between personal and professional life for workers and employers?
Posted at 11:00 a.m.
We are able to see that acquired hyperconnectivity reflexes remain. More of us are bringing the computer home and logging on after “traditional” working hours and this only compounds the general burnout among employees. es A recent Robert Half study of 500 Canadian workers indicated that more than 60% of employees work more than 40 hours a week, and that 38% of them felt even more exhausted than at the same time, the last year.
For its part, the Junior Chamber of Commerce of Montreal notes, after consulting its network, that a majority of workers do not know whether or not the organization that employs them has a policy of the right to disconnect.
Often informal, these rules can have a significant impact on employee well-being. e. s, in a context where a large proportion of workers say they are professionally exhausted.
While we observe this phenomenon and its repercussions on the mental health of professionals, we also realize that it will be complex to propose solutions that will suit everyone. It is clear that the pandemic, despite its countless negative consequences, has also had positive effects for many of us: more flexible schedules, telecommuting, time saving, better work-family balance, etc. These new realities are now part of our lives and several companies have already adopted them on a permanent basis; they are likely here for good.
However, some jurisdictions and organizations around the world have implemented or proposed policies on the right to disconnect that could limit this newly acquired autonomy appreciated by many employees. Unfortunately, in Quebec, we are not there yet; we see a delay.
Right to disconnect policy
The expectations of many employers, as well as the obligations and rights of employees in terms of disconnection, are often misunderstood and we must quickly clarify the situation in order to limit the negative effects of this vagueness, which is to no one’s advantage. The Junior Chamber of Commerce of Montreal strongly encourages organizations to adopt a formal right to disconnect policy, which specifies in particular the hours of disconnection and which defines the exceptions. We also believe that leaders have an important role to play in ensuring that the right to disconnect is respected, in particular by leading by example and actively promoting the standards to be respected.
The government also has an essential role to play. It would probably be too restrictive (and possibly counterproductive) to impose, for example, fixed hours on all organizations. We nevertheless believe that the obligation to adopt a policy would help clarify the expectations of the various employers and establish fairness among employees.
The National Assembly must work to better regulate the right to disconnect, while ensuring that the solutions adapt to individual and sectoral realities. In Ontario, it has been mandatory since June 2 that companies have a right to disconnect policy. It is time for the Quebec political class to look into it again. In this pre-election period, we will be very attentive to the commitments of political parties.
We are entering a new era with regard to the organization of work. It is necessary to clarify the rules of the game.