Chapter 6:
Letting go is hard to do: Reasons for a right to disconnect
Job quality
Takeaways
Four out of five respondents to a Eurofound survey said that they are regularly contacted by work outside of their contracted hours; over half feel obliged to respond.
Nearly half of workers said that such out-of-hours contact has a negative impact on their family life, while a similar proportion believe that it affects their health.
The presence of a right-to-disconnect policy at work appears not to have a bearing on whether employees are contacted out of hours or not. However, companies with a policy seem to be more sensitive to following favourable working time practices.
Among the issues exercising policymakers in the debate around telework, although relevant beyond telework arrangements, is the right to disconnect – the right of workers not to engage with work-related electronic communications outside of working hours. The increasing use of digital tools tends to create an always-on work culture with an expectation that workers are available at any time. Out-of-hours contacts are very common – 80% of respondents to a Eurofound survey said they were regularly contacted by work outside their working day. Regular interruption of home life can be detrimental to well-being and work–life balance; in some cases, it leads to unpaid overtime. In an effort to curb the practice, nine Member States have legislated for a right to disconnect, and many companies in these countries have implemented their own policies on contacting staff outside normal working hours. With out-of-hours contact so prevalent, do employees actually benefit from a right-to-disconnect policy?
In 2022, Eurofound surveyed employees in four countries that have legislated for a right to disconnect: Belgium, France, Italy and Spain. The sample of respondents was split fairly evenly between those whose companies had adopted a right-to-disconnect policy (44%) and those whose companies had not (56%).
As noted above, four out of five of the sample reported being contacted outside of their contracted hours during their typical working week, most frequently by colleagues, but also by line managers and clients. The rate of contact is not lower in companies with a right-to-disconnect policy. Furthermore, over half (57%) of workers feel obliged to respond to such communication. Younger workers feel this obligation to a much greater extent than older workers: 72% of the 16–24 age group compared with 54% of workers aged 40 and over. It may be that younger workers feel more pressure to demonstrate their commitment at the start of their career, but it could also have something to do with a greater digital connectedness among the young generation and a stronger disposition to react to contact.
'The right to disconnect – the right of workers not to engage with work-related electronic communications outside of working hours.'
'Eurofound surveyed employees in four countries that have legislated for a right to disconnect. 80% reported being contacted outside of their contracted hours.'
Why do workers respond?
Nine out of 10 workers take some action in response to such contacts at least some of the time, while nearly a quarter always answer. When asked why, the reason given most (82%) is that they feel responsible for their assignments (Figure 19). But there is also an undercurrent of compulsion in the reasons: 75% indicated that this is expected of them and nearly 60% said it is mandatory. Half believe that responding is helpful to their career, but this is the least common response.
Figure 19: Reasons for responding to out-of-hours contact from work, 2022 (%)
Source: Eurofound, Right to disconnect survey 2022
Some respondents have an overtime agreement with their employer and this appears to influence whether they are contacted and whether they respond. In general, employees with agreed paid overtime are contacted outside their working hours to a greater extent than those without an overtime agreement. Furthermore, among respondents who are paid for overtime, 65% feel obliged to respond, which could be linked to being paid for their additional hours of connection. Among those who are not paid for overtime, the percentage is 35%.
Almost half of the respondents to the survey regularly work more hours than they are contracted for. Close to one-fifth (17%) of this group do so because they have been contacted by work. This is, however, the least common reason for working additional hours. The most common reason, reported by 37%, is to complete work they had been unable to do during normal working hours. And 31% are doing regular agreed overtime.
Thumbs down for out-of-hours contact
When asked about the downsides of being contacted outside working hours, the most prevalent reason given was a negative impact on family life (reported by 46%), followed by a negative impact on health and well-being (45%) (Figure 20). However, it is worth noting that 42% of respondents indicate that being contacted out of hours is not an issue for them.
Figure 20: Perceived impact of being contact out of hours on health and well-being (%)
Source: Eurofound, Right to disconnect survey 2022
Why have a right-to-disconnect policy?
The presence of a right-to-disconnect policy at work does not appear to affect whether employees are contacted out of hours or not. However, employees of companies with a policy seem to have more favourable working time arrangements. For instance, fewer reported working additional hours following contact from managers, colleagues or clients (14%, compared with 19% working in companies without a policy). When they work extra time, they are more likely to be compensated financially or through time off. In addition, 92% of respondents who work in a company with a right-to-disconnect policy reported that their working hours are well aligned with their private life, whereas the figure for those not covered by a right to disconnect was 82%. Over 55% of workers with a right-to-disconnect policy in their company reported that actions were in place to limit working hours compared with only 28% of workers in companies without a policy.
They also fare better in relation to health. In response to a survey question asking whether respondents experienced any of several listed health conditions, for all but one of the conditions employees with a right to disconnect experienced them to a lesser extent. For instance, the most common health issue, headaches, was reported by 37% of employees with a right to disconnect and by 45% of employees without. The findings suggest that companies with a right-to-disconnect policy are more alert to the need to manage employees’ working time, to limit the spillover of work into the non-working day, and to compensate for overtime worked.
Efforts to regulate
The extent to which workers are being contacted by colleagues, managers and clients and the extent to which they respond indicates that current legislation is not keeping pace with digitalisation and the implications of constant connection. Only 9 of the 27 Member States have legislation establishing a right to disconnect, although collective agreements including the right to disconnect exist in other countries. No provision for a right to disconnect exists in EU law.
Following a call from the Commission in 2021, the European cross-industry social partners began to negotiate a joint agreement on regulating telework and the right to disconnect. These negotiations ended in November 2023, with little prospect for subsequent resumption. The Commission remains committed to legislating on the right to disconnect.
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Credits
Story images: Unsplash
Chapter tiles: Unsplash; Chapter 2 © Victor/Adobe Stock; Chapter 7 © focusandblur/Adobe Stock
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