This text is part of the special Syndicalism booklet
Since France legislated in 2017 on the right to disconnect, a dozen countries have imitated it, including Italy, Belgium, Ireland, Peru, Spain and South Korea. Such laws aim to “sanctuarize” employees’ rest and reduce the encroachment of work on their break times, evenings, weekends and vacations. In America, Ontario is the only jurisdiction to have gone down this path. The Government of Quebec still refuses to do so.
In 2020, the Minister of Labor of Quebec, Jean Boulet, who is a lawyer in labor law, said he was concerned about the risk of abuse, but he did not want to interfere in the process of collective or individual negotiations.
According to Manon Poirier, Executive Director of the Order of Chartered Human Resources Advisors (CRHA) of Quebec, legislating on the right to disconnect has serious limitations. “The law can only require companies to have a policy. It is impossible to generalize anything because the uses vary too much according to the context of each organization and even according to individuals. »
In his view, a strict policy could create more problems than it solves. “For example, in Europe, a few companies have taken the initiative to disconnect their servers from early evening until the next morning. This practice did not last, because many employees preferred to leave early to be reunited with their families and then return to work in the early evening. A rigid policy did not fit their reality. »
Philippe Zawieja, expert director at the firm AlterNego, associate researcher at the Observatory on health and well-being at work at the University of Montreal and specialist in professional exhaustion, sees in the debate on the right to disconnection an educational aspect.
“Such a law was necessary in France, because we tend not to act if it is not dictated, but there are other ways to do it. In Quebec, your work organization applies a lot of unspoken rules that often go beyond policies. »
Business initiatives
Manon Poirier, who has a background in law, is aware of the limits of the law. “Long before France, German organizations had started to put in place measures aimed at the right to disconnect. Overall I would say they were more successful than the French. Many Quebec employers are working in this direction. »
She cites her own example as an employer. The Ordre des CRHA, which employs 60 people, clarified the context in which emails, text messages, chat and videoconferencing are used. “With the proliferation of communication channels, we have an easy emergency. What is urgent? When do we chat? When do we switch to email? When do we need to talk to each other? Feedback expectations were also defined. »
In his view, the management teams have an important job of setting an example and consistency to do – by not calling, for example, meetings that encroach on mealtimes. She explains that employers must clarify expectations, talk about the existence of the right to disconnect, offer training on time and priority management.
“The company can automate email notifications during office hours,” she explains. She can encourage employees to manage expectations by posting absence messages even for half a day, informing customers and suppliers about her staff’s working hours. There are ways to use technology to reduce unreasonable expectations. »
Philippe Zawieja clearly sees it as a subject of training and discipline. In his view, a good employer should develop a code of conduct that encourages better management of priorities and the modification of practices, such as the reduction of recipient lists to avoid CC abuse. “Some compulsive people have to be told that nothing says you have to answer every e-mail in five minutes. »
Fight digital fatigue
The effect of hyperconnectivity on health is increasingly understood. The abuse of text messages, for example, can trigger De Quervain’s tenosynovitis (known as textonitis), an inflammation of the tendons of the thumbs. Psychiatrists are seeing an upsurge in mobidependency (a state of craving caused in a person by the absence of their mobile phone).
“We now know that digital technology produces specific fatigue of an ophthalmic or ergonomic nature and sleep disorders linked to overstimulation by bluish light. Multitasking and frequent interruptions cause cognitive effects, starting with poor concentration. The encroachment of work on the personal sphere, and vice-versa, and the bombardment of insignificant information exhaust us”, explains Philippe Zawieja, who acted as scientific adviser on a documentary comic strip, Burnout survivors (Les Arènes), to be published in June in Quebec.
Fatigue, stress and a sedentary lifestyle result in more sick leave, absenteeism, errors, not to mention the loss of motivation and the risk of exhaustion.
If hyperconnectivity can create dependencies, the two specialists agree however that there is no point in dreaming of a return to the past. “We are in the era of hyperconnectivity. It’s a new way of being, says Manon Poirier. It’s not just teenagers hanging on to their mobiles. Everyone’s network has grown: it is much larger and more immediate. We now have a virtual life, and this requires new learning. »
This shift, she believes, calls for the development of a new work ethic and a redefinition of what was once obvious when everyone was doing face-to-face 9-to-5. “In human resources, we strongly believe in flexibility, but that creates discrepancies simply because some people come earlier than others. »
Philippe Zawieja explains that we must now live with the fact that everyone, employers and employees, have found their account in teleworking. We discovered that we can get the same amount of work done in less time because we are not disturbed by colleagues, meetings, the phone ringing, conversations, commuting time.
This is why, he judges, there are limits to creating an overly rigid legal framework. “The right to disconnect is ideal for those who are likely to have problems, but it can become alienating for those who know how to manage their time and self-discipline. »
This special content was produced by the Special Publications team of the Duty, relating to marketing. The drafting of Duty did not take part.