Work-life boundary: global policies set clear guidelines for hybrid work

The rise of flexible working in the past two decades has had an irreversible impact on how work and life merge together. At the inception of the movement when mobile technology allowed knowledge workers to bring work into their homes, the topic of ‘work-life balance’ came into play. As mobile technology became more ubiquitous, the conversation shifted to a ‘work-life blur’. Now, new government policies are marking a new era: the work-life boundary.

The right to disconnect

The right to disconnect is a law that gives employees the right to log off and disconnect from work outside contracted working hours. It aims to protect employees’ health and wellbeing from overwork and burnout and has risen in popularity in recent years as a counter to the ‘work-life blur’ movement.

The policy outlines a clear guideline for communication between an employer and employee which includes:

• Employees are not be required to work outside contracted hours.
• Employees are not penalised for refusing to work outside contracted hours.
• Employees should not be contacted by their employer outside working hours.
• Employees are expected to respect their colleagues’ right to disconnect.

Growing trend

The right to disconnect is a growing trend in Europe, with France introducing legislation in 2017. More than 20 countries and states have followed suit including Australia in August 2024 and Ontario, Canada in 2023. Now, the new UK Labour government is proposing a similar law called ‘the right to switch off’.

The proposed UK policy intends to prevent homes from becoming ‘always on’ offices and to address work-life balance issues that have arisen from the global pandemic. The policy can be implemented through mutual workplace agreements between employers and employees. These agreements outline contact hours and customised rules for the right to switch off.

This policy is set to give the power of autonomy to employees, but organisations can tailor their right-to-switch-off policies to specific business needs and sector obligations. However, within these parameters employees who are repeatedly contacted outside of their contracted hours may be eligible for compensation from their employers if they make an Employment Tribunal claim.

Focus on wellbeing and productivity

The right to disconnect has become a government priority in recent years as research highlights a rise of burnout and stress among knowledge workers. Gallup’s annual engagement survey shows that globally active disengagement rates are rising, which has a negative impact on productivity. Unwell and unproductive citizens present a threat to economic growth, which in turn pushes the wellbeing of employees further up the government agenda.

The UK government has publicly announced that the right-to-disconnect policy ensures that ‘we’re not inadvertently blurring the lines between work and home life…It’s about making sure we have the right balance between making the most of the flexible working practices that we saw following the pandemic with also having appropriate arrangements in place to ensure that people can stay productive in light of that’.

Balancing flex and disconnect

What do these global policies mean for flexible work? The rise of hybrid working has seen employees across the world gain greater flexibility in how, where and even when they work. This allows employees to work around caring responsibilities, take an hour out of the day to partake in a hobby, or work at times that best suit their neuro-functionality (for example, night owls working into the evening and starting their workday later).

In theory, the introduction of the right to disconnect has the potential to threaten this new-found flexibility. Setting policies that promote boundaries between work and life creates rigid guardrails around work that doesn’t allow for flexibility in working hours. This could create difficulties particularly for global or geographically disparate teams that have arisen from the pandemic – limiting asynchronous working opportunities.

Technology in play

It is at this intersection where innovative technology solutions and AI have come into play. AI-powered software tools, such as Microsoft’s Copilot tool, can support and nudge employees to be mindful about other colleagues’ schedules. For example, individuals can set their working hours on Microsoft Teams so when employees send them an email outside of those hours it will nudge the sender to schedule the send for when they are online. This allows employees to keep their flexible schedules and prompts colleagues to work within those parameters, creating a balance between flexible work schedules and mindful communication.

The right-to-disconnect policy is a pivotal movement from governments globally to intervene and champion the rights of employees, while ensuring the economy can thrive. It is a long-term vision that aims to preserve the wellbeing of office workers and encourage employers to be mindful of that flexible work does not exacerbate burnout with an always-on culture.