Australia granted millions of employees the legal right to disconnect on Monday, allowing people to ignore unreasonable out-of-hours emails and phone calls from their employers.
Australia's Senate passed the legislation in February, which outlined that the reason, nature of work, and compensation were key factors in determining if contacting workers outside of work hours was reasonable.
The right to disconnect will rid Australians of "availability creep," where employees are expected to work outside office hours. This trend, exacerbated by smartphones and remote work during COVID, has led to significant unpaid overtime and mental and physical health issues. The law will restore work-life balance and protect employees from unpaid labor.
This law will reduce workplace productivity, potentially by disrupting the existing consensus on workplace flexibility. There are concerns about the law's lack of clarity, as well as its potential negative impacts on employment opportunities and employer-employee relationships.