How clear is your company’s Right to Disconnect policy?

…Because recent polls conducted by people2people Recruitment revealed that 78% of employees are more likely to work with an organisation that has one.

Meanwhile, as the new Right to Disconnect laws come into effect, Australian business and employees have expressed concerns about their implementation and management. Main concerns were difficulty enforcing the rules, the impact on work culture, the effect on productivity and what it means for collaboration.

As such, people2people Recruitment have shared top tips for navigating the new laws:

For employers:

1. Communicate, communicate, communicate! Is your Right to Disconnect policy clear and easily accessible to all? Make sure management communicates it regularly.
2. Provide training sessions. For both management and staff. Emphasise the importance of respecting personal time. Explain the benefits of a healthy work-life balance.
3. Lead by example, always. Promoting a culture that values work-life balance can’t happen if management doesn’t follow it first. Encourage all employees to fully disconnect after working hours.
4. Monitor and adapt. Your first policies will most likely need a review later as your company learns better ways to enforce the laws. Gather feedback. Be open to adjusting to better serve the team.
5. Use tech wisely. Promote tools that support the Right to Disconnect. Email or messaging systems that schedule communications during work hours – or automatically notify senders that recipients are unavailable outside of these hours.

For employees:

1. Set your own boundaries. Communicate your hours to your team. Ensure you stick to them. Working flexible hours? Clarify how and when you can be reached.
2. Respect your team’s boundaries. The laws will only work if everyone respects each other’s hours. Avoid sending emails or messages to your colleagues outside of their work time when possible.
3. Prioritise tasks. Focus on completing your most critical tasks during designated work hours. Proper time management reduces the need to work outside of these hours.
4. Take advantage of tech. Use autoresponders or status updates to indicate when you are offline. This helps set expectations and reinforces your right to disconnect.