The disconnection of workers after their working day or during their vacation period has become one of the most relevant issues in relation to mental health in the work environment. The increase in teleworking as a result of the pandemic has caused many people to live with their work devices 24 hours a day, a fact that can make it difficult to get a proper rest.
In fact, according to a report published by the UGT together with the University of Valencia, 56% of employees receive emails related to work outside of their working hours, even on vacation, while for 35% telephone calls are also outside their rest period, which causes 46% of employees to fail to disconnect correctly.
This fact favoured that, during the past year, more than 11,000 infractions of Spanish companies were detected for violating the control of the working time of employees according to the Labour Inspectorate, a figure that translated 13.7 million euro in sanctions, more than double that in the year before the pandemic.
One of the main causes of this lack of digital disconnection is, according to the aforementioned report, the lack of a protocol in companies to achieve it, and that is that 60% of them do not have a plan so that their employees do not receive messages related to your work outside of your working day.
In this sense, Facundo Gauto, a specialist consultant for the comprehensive human resources solutions partner S&you, as well as a life coach and specialist in positive psychology, explained that “digital disconnection is a right that all workers in the country have, but that, in practice, it occurs much less than it should. For employees to have proper mental health, it is essential that their time away from the office is respected, since, otherwise, symptoms such as burnout or quiet quitting can appear very quickly”.
On the other hand, Gauto has drawn up a list of tools and tips for companies to promote proper digital disconnection among their employees and, in this way, achieve a healthy work environment:
Training for managers and teams: It is essential that both the directors of a company and the lower-ranking employees are fully aware of their labour rights and obligations. In this sense, through the training tasks, the teams will be aware of the digital disconnection methods and how to carry them out once their workday has finished.
Carry out teambuilding: These types of activities are another great alternative to promote disconnection and good mental health of workers. Taking advantage of teambuilding to carry out activities that do not require the use of electronic devices will allow workers to verify the advantages of digital disconnection and understand its importance.
Foster empathy among employees: In addition to exercising their right to digital disconnection, it is vitally important that workers are aware of their colleagues’ right and help them exercise it. Not sending messages outside of their working hours or not planning meetings near the end of the day are some strategies to help all employees disconnect.
Allow workers to leave their devices at the office: Leaving your mobile phone or work computer at the office during the vacation period or at the end of the day is one of the best solutions to encourage digital disconnection. This simple fact will significantly improve your mood and productivity during work hours.
It should be remembered that, in the event that companies do not comply with this right, they can receive fines of between 625 and 6,250 euro. It can even become a very serious offence with a fine of 6,251 to 187,215 euro, if this occurs repeatedly with “harassment” and continued sending of messages and emails.
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