Katie Smith’s Post

Are you always on at work, even after hours? The blurred lines between work and home are becoming clearer as employees navigate remote work and constant connectivity. Stay informed about your rights as Labour proposes reforms, including a new "right to disconnect" to protect work-life balance. Will these changes become law, reshaping how we work and rest? Read more on this at The Hype Economy. #WorkLifeBalance #RightToDisconnect #LabourReforms

Should US workers retain the right to disconnect when not in the office? Australia recently introduced a law that would allow workers to actually disconnect from work when they aren't on the clock. For years business and work has elbowed its way into our personal lives with significant force. Many workers have become accustomed to checking email occasionally while out of the office or on vacation. It's not uncommon for an employee to receive a text or call from their boss during off hours. It seems many have lost the ability to truly disconnect from their work and it is having a significant impact on individuals' ability to actually rest and recharge. But here's the rub, in the past decade, many organizations have displayed a willingness to allow personal life to encroach upon business hours. Stepping out of the office for a child's class party, taking personal calls at the office, and the expansive implementation of work from home policies have blended the lines between our personal and professional lives. One might ask, is it healthy? The double edged sword: Here's where this new legislation could negatively impact the worker. When there are stricter policies on when an employer can expect responses from an employee, it may force organizations to become more strict with how time is utilized during business hours. If we can limit work's impact on our personal lives, will employers begin to limit the amount of personal obligations/calls/texts that an employee can field while they are on the clock? Now, most companies won't take this hard lined approach, but we must remember that for every action there is an equal reaction. This begs the question "What will be the reaction of businesses that are already fighting a losing battle for their team members attention?" Great article by Natasha F. and Isabella Kwai! #companyculture #employeeexperience #workfromhome The New York Times https://lnkd.in/ds66WcFV

Everyone talks about work-life balance. ⚖ ⚖ ⚖ In the US, there seems to be both a huge push for it and also a large counter "grindset" mentality movement. Talks of work-life progress during the pandemic's remote work era are by and large coming to an end with return-to-office mandates. For workers who get paid by the hour, disconnecting when you were off the clock used to be simple: you went home. Now with technology keeping us connected 24/7, that no longer holds true. In other places it's not just talk. Australia just passed a bill that gives workers the right to disconnect outside of scheduled hours. They join the likes of France and Portugal who have enshrined work-life balance into law. Even Kenya has a bill in the works! Employers: no matter where you fall on the debate, the global workforce is evolving.

✋🕘 THE RIGHT TO STOP 🕔✋ Following their win in the general election in July, Labour set out a wide range of employment law changes they propose to make within their first 100 days in power. One notable policy is the “Right to Switch Off”, which prohibits employers from contacting their staff outside of their contracted hours. While this announcement has created much debate in the media, with many raising concerns over the implications of such a move, this topic of debate gave us an opportunity to reflect on the comparisons with our own "right to stop" policy and how it has helped us establish a productive culture of work-life harmony over the years. What does this policy mean for our team? Our founder, Chris Cranshaw, explains more: "Successfully separating your work and home life is a balancing act. This is an ongoing endeavour that will take on unique forms for each member of our team. But as our client’s expectations grew in our early years as a business, it was crucial that we established a standard practice to make sure that everyone was able to find a happy medium between the demands of work and the needs of their own personal lives. In addition to ensuring that none of our team members are contacted by their manager, colleagues or even myself outside of their contract hours, we also request that they do not add their email accounts to their personal devices to prevent them from monitoring emails in the evenings and weekends. In addition to this, we also strongly discourage them all from sharing their personal contact information and engaging in any kind of work-related communication or discussions with our clients after 5 o'clock in the evening. However, everyone in our team can use their MacBook for personal use, so we've taken great care to make sure that our internal communication channels and tech stack don’t send alerts during out-of-work hours. We’ve also made a point of not using client’s own messaging apps and collaboration tools that could alert them to work-related communications and intrude on their free time. The success of this stance is evident in the regular feedback we’ve received from our team since the policy was introduced in 2021, highlighting the improved quality of life and mental wellbeing our team members have achieved outside of work. I am personally very proud that this very simple policy has worked for our team, and I hope our own experiences serve as a good case study for any business leaders worried about how this possible change could impact how they engage and communicate with their teams." #Halt #HaltAgency #Halteregos #Scrollstoppers #RecruitmentMarketing #Recruitment #WorkLifeBalance

Should Workers Have the ‘Right to Disconnect’? Australia became the latest country to give employees the “right to disconnect” outside their standard working hours to support work-life balance in an “always on” digital world. Do you see more pros than cons in “right to disconnect” policies for workplaces and their employees? Read the article & panel discussion here: https://lnkd.in/eQprP-r5 Lisa Goller, MBA "To do their best work, workers have to feel their best. Making space for rest, recreation and self care benefits workers and employers alike, improving productivity, morale and retention." Kristin Shane "As working parents, we want the flexibility to be able to leave the office to make our kids’ activities and know that anything we don’t finish up, we can do on our terms." Georganne Bender "If you want workers to be “always on” as part of their employment then they need to be paid 24/7. No company owns 100% of your time. Unless you work for yourself then it’s a whole ‘nother story."

✋🕘 THE RIGHT TO STOP 🕔✋ Following their win in the general election this month, Labour has set out a wide range of employment law changes they propose to make within their first 100 days in power. One notable policy is the “Right to Switch Off”, which prohibits employers from contacting their staff outside of their contracted hours. While this announcement has created much debate in the media, with many raising concerns over the implications of such a move, this topic of debate gave us an opportunity to reflect on the comparisons with our own "right to stop" policy and how it has helped us establish a productive culture of work-life harmony over the years. What does this policy mean for our team? Our founder, Chris Cranshaw, explains more: "Successfully separating your work and home life is a balancing act. This is an ongoing endeavour that will take on unique forms for each member of our team. But as our client’s expectations grew in our early years as a business, it was crucial that we established a standard practice to make sure that everyone was able to find a happy medium between the demands of work and the needs of their own personal lives. In addition to ensuring that none of our team members are contacted by their manager, colleagues or even myself outside of their contract hours, we also request that they do not add their email accounts to their personal devices to prevent them from monitoring emails in the evenings and weekends. In addition to this, we also strongly discourage them all from sharing their personal contact information and engaging in any kind of work-related communication or discussions with our clients after 5 o'clock in the evening. However, everyone in our team can use their MacBook for personal use, so we've taken great care to make sure that our internal communication channels and tech stack don’t send alerts during out-of-work hours. We’ve also made a point of not using client’s own messaging apps and collaboration tools that could alert them to work-related communications and intrude on their free time. The success of this stance is evident in the regular feedback we’ve received from our team since the policy was introduced in 2021, highlighting the improved quality of life and mental wellbeing our team members have achieved outside of work. I am personally very proud that this very simple policy has worked for our team, and I hope our own experiences serve as a good case study for any business leaders worried about how this possible change could impact how they engage and communicate with their teams." #Halt #HaltAgency #Halteregos #Scrollstoppers #RecruitmentMarketing #Recruitment #WorkLifeBalance

Faegre Drinker's Erika Collins and Brooke Razor write: The law takes effect on August 26, 2024, for employers with 15 or more employees and August 26, 2025, for employers with 14 or fewer employees. ... Australia joins a growing list of countries that have recognized a right to disconnect from the workplace. The trend started in France in 2017 and has become increasingly popular in Europe and globally... #australia #righttodisconnect #workhours #remotework

Should the right to disconnect from work be legislated? Is this something that could this be addressed with employers and employees directly through open dialogue, reasonable (agreed upon) expectations and plausible boundaries? Other creative solutions for work-life balance? This brings up so many things for me...before I soap box-I want to hear what it brings up for you... Including 2 articles here with slightly different perspectives... https://lnkd.in/gvQZMkRQ.

Is it possible to blend flexibility with the right to disconnect? 🤔 Australia is set to pioneer legislation that lets employees tune out work messages after hours guilt-free. But what does this mean in practice? Our CEO Ben Thompson weighs in for Dynamic Business: "A balanced approach is required – one that respects employees’ rights to disconnect while preserving the advantages of flexible work and creating less complexity for managers.” Curious to learn more? Dive in here: https://lnkd.in/gjQpnT4t #worklifebalance #flexiblework #righttodisconnect #EmploymentHeroAU

Exciting news for Australian employees! 🇦🇺 Starting August 26th, the "Right to Disconnect" law will grant you the legal right to switch off from work outside regular hours. 🕒 The Fair Work Commission has released key details, outlining a phased rollout for compliance. Employers, get ready to adjust practices to respect this new legislation! 🚨 Check out the full article on our website to learn more about the benefits, concerns, and implications of this game-changing law for work-life balance 👇 https://buff.ly/3xWLYsX -------------------------- Join our free daily newsletter for the latest updates on work-life balance laws and more: 📩📩📩📩📩 https://buff.ly/3QlzuB6 📩📩📩📩📩 -------------------------- #RightToDisconnect #FairWorkCommission #WorkLifeBalance #EmploymentLaws