Work is very tiring for most and look forward to the end of the day when they get to go home and relax. Unfortunately, some employees tend to be followed by their job everywhere they go due to bosses not respecting off hours. That might be changing with California's new bill.
Right to Disconnect Bill
There are supposed to be boundaries between work and personal hours, wherein bosses should not contact workers when they're no longer on the clock. Some would say that being forced to work unpaid overtime should be punishable, and California agrees.
With the "right to disconnect" bill, employees will no longer be required to respond to their boss' work-related emails n or texts outside work hours. The hours that a staffer would work need to be specified as well, and the boss may not ask employees to exceed them.
Should a salaried worker be asked to work longer hours than previously stated, it needs to be mentioned in their contract, and exceptions will only apply in emergency cases, as reported by Engadget. With the new regulations, many workers will have the chance to actually take a break from their jobs.
The proposition is still in its early stages and was proposed by California State Assemblyman Matt Haney. The "right to disconnect" bill, also known as AB 2751, is already an established regulation in other countries like France, Argentina, Ireland, Mexico, and Spain.
If the bill is passed, the Department of Labor will monitor companies to see whether they follow the new policies. Should they not, they could be fined a minimum of $100, and it could be as simple as forcing employees to join video conference meetings outside working hours.
"I do think it's fitting that California, which has created many of these technologies, is also the state that introduces how we make it sustainable and update our protections for the times we live in and the world we've created," Haney stated.
Employees and Work Hours
Workers going above and beyond are often praised by bosses, calling them hard workers for doing more than what was required of them. While some choose to put in more effort, others don't have a choice.
In a survey that questioned 1,000 employees, it was found that about 70% of them were contacted by their bosses outside working hours at least once a week, and three out of ten said that they always answered when their employers contacted them.
63.3% of employees believe that such practices should be illegal, and about 45% believe the penalty should be a fine, as reported by Forbes. Only 39.5 % believe that being reprimanded is punishment enough for reaching out to employees after hours.
A whopping 90.4% said that they want the possibility of being contacted outside working hours made known as early as the interview process. In emergency cases, 46.1% said that urgent project deadlines can be considered with 63.4% saying the same for other work emergencies.
