Does your team have the right to switch off? 

It couldn’t have been any clearer. "I’m out of the office until August 13th and will not be replying to emails."  

I even left specific instructions: if it’s urgent, please contact one of the two team members whose email addresses were linked in the message. 

Simple, right? So why did some people think it was appropriate to ignore my OoO and ask me to call them or message me on WhatsApp? 

Switching off is crucial  

Switching off is crucial for focus and mental health. So much so that the Labour Party is proposing ‘right to switch-off’ legislation, which will protect people’s rights not to be contacted by their employer outside of hours. 

This is part of Labour’s New Deal for Working People. Around 70% of people agree it’s a good idea. Part of the reason for this is to protect people from the post-pandemic shift in working patterns and the adoption of technology that allows most of us to answer a work email from a sun lounger by the pool or to be contacted in various ways via several social media platforms at any time of day or night. 

The danger of our always-contactable era is that we are never off. And if we are never off, we never recharge. But does the policy consider people who don’t have the standard 9-5, run businesses, or care for others, be it children or elderly parents? 

I know some of my team flex their hours to pick up kids and work later, after ‘switch-off’ time. This way of working is helpful. What Labour is saying is that everyone should have the ‘right to switch off’, and fundamentally, I agree. Even though, if you asked my team, they’d say my ‘off button’ is broken. 

Not all overtime is equal  

I’m not one of those people for whom holiday time is sacrosanct. Anyone self-employed or running their own business will understand that you can never be truly off. Most days, when I’m away, I’ll check and answer emails, make calls, and attend to anything that needs to be done. 

I’m one of those annoying people by the pool with a laptop, a mojito in one hand, spouting management speak into my AirPods. Soz. I do it for my sanity. I run large projects for other companies, so I often plan and design materials. But that’s my choice. Equally, I respect other people’s holiday preferences, and if they’ve asked me not to contact them or to refer a query to a colleague, that’s what I’ll do. 

All this creates an interesting quandary for leaders who promote workers based on merit. Traditionally, the concept of ‘discretionary effort’ has been one of the factors leaders use to decide who rises through the ranks. People who go ‘above and beyond’ are generally rewarded, and putting in extra effort often requires putting in extra time or being available to deal with an issue out of hours when there is an emergency. 

But beware not to fall into the trap of believing working longer hours means being a better worker. This is not always the case. One of my dad’s favourite sayings was, "It’s no good trying to cut down a forest with a blunt sword." 

In other words, a lot of what would be classed as discretionary effort appears to be working outside of allotted hours – the old term might be ‘overtime’. The person who comes into work an hour earlier to get ahead or who stays an hour later to finish a task will be noticed. 

But this isn’t always the way. Efficiency and the right effort should all be part of how someone is measured. 

People who do put in extra time  

But there are people who put in extra time to get a project over the line. Under the right to disconnect rules, will leaders be allowed to acknowledge and reward this discretionary effort? And if they do, will they conversely and unwittingly penalise people who don’t display the same behaviour by not rewarding them, thereby breaking the right to disconnect law? 

And if they cannot legally reward people for time-related discretionary effort, will that then discourage people? Will everyone just switch off and pack up at 5:30 pm, no matter whether the job is finished or not? It’s quite a conundrum. 

The UK is already in a productivity paradox, and I’m not saying we should all work harder – though definitely smarter – and sometimes it is about getting the job done. After all, creativity and productivity could suffer if we promote downing tools at 5:30 pm. 

The brain needs to recharge  

Time away from work is vital. The brain needs to recharge. Switching off from work tasks shouldn’t just be about holidays; leaders should model good and positive work practices throughout the day. 

Most people need to work after hours because of the ridiculous number of meetings people schedule. This is not productive or necessary – STOP THE TEAMS INVITES, PEOPLE! 

Could it be a call, a text, or an email? Do you need the whole department for 90 minutes? If you’ve done the proper prep and pre-reads, no meeting should be longer than 30 minutes. (Look at our previous blog about being overwhelmed at work for some top tips: Confronting Your Boss About the Tsunami of Tasks). 

The brain can only concentrate on a task for a limited time, which varies between individuals. Different experts have different theories. Psychologist K. Anders Ericsson, for example, believed that most people can concentrate intensely for between four and five hours a day. 

Many productivity experts agree with this, and there are several ways to slice and dice the day into focused blocks. The Pomodoro technique, for example, allows for 25-minute blocks of work, called Pomodoros, with a five-minute break after each and a more extended break after four Pomodoros. 

Bringing the UK up to speed 

Another reason for the proposed policy is to bring the UK in line with other countries where people have a right to disconnect, enabling them to disengage from work and work-related communications outside working hours without fear of facing negative repercussions. 

In France, all employees have the right to disconnect, and companies with 50 employees or more must negotiate an agreement on the right to disconnect with relevant trade unions or adopt a unilateral policy detailing how they intend to respect this right. 

In Portugal, it is illegal for employers to attempt to contact remote workers outside working hours. In Germany, employees are only obliged to be available outside working hours if their employment contract provides for this. 

Meanwhile, this week, Australian politicians passed a new law allowing employees to ignore communications after hours if they choose to, without fear of being punished by their bosses. But read the small print: this is only for people paid below a certain level because they understand certain jobs require a bit more. 

The best solution is to work out the details with individuals, considering their roles and the business needs. It’s about a two-way, adult conversation. As is usually the case, the solution will be found by using common sense – but maybe between the hours of 9 am and 5:30 pm, though, yeah?

If you’ve been recharging this summer and would love some motivation to return to your desk with a smile on your face - or help your team do the same - come along to our free webinar, ‘Back to the Grind’ on September 23rd.