Many employers will breathe a sigh of relief that the right to switch off has been dropped from the Employment Rights Bill. In some organisations, being online 24/7 is part of the culture and is seen as a badge of honour. Some employers take anything less than this availability to signal a lack of interest in career progression, but wise ones should be starting to see that the attrition rate with this kind of work culture is very high indeed. The high price paid for overworking leads to stressed workers, and ultimately, negatively impacts productivity.
The human brain and body are not designed to work 24/7. They need rest to work at their best level. It is a false premise to think that because people are working long hours, they are productive all the time. Evidence shows they are not: there is no way they can be. Poor employers will relish the switch off right being lost. For employees, this may be the one missed chance to achieve good working conditions from their employer and a better work-life balance.
The government is focusing on making work pay and on reducing the economic and social burden of high levels of sickness absence from work but are doing nothing to address work-related stress at its roots. It proposes to improve access to occupational health and rehabilitation but appears to have entirely side-stepped cutting off the problem at the source. If people work long hours without rest, they will get sick.
With mental illness being the top reason for absence from work, surely switching off is a sensible as well as easy and practical solution. For sure, it is the only way some employees will secure sensible working hours from some employers across sectors, including law.
Reducing hours is a sure-fire way to prevent burnout, as is hybrid working, where the loss of a commute saves hours each week that can be spent doing valuable work. The Covid-19 pandemic changed the world of work for the better for so many people, but employers must be sure that home-working and the ability to work from anywhere with a laptop do not lead to excessive working and the fallout that this will inevitably cause.
Anita Vadgama is an employment discrimination lawyer at Didlaw
