“The Right to Disconnect” and Other Worthwhile Conversations with Your Boss
On January 1, 2017, the French government instituted sweeping changes governing workplaces in France. Although the new law aimed to provide employers with greater flexibility in relation to their workforce, the "right to disconnect" provisions seem to have attracted much attention. The law requires employers to make their expectations clear to employees once a year regarding sending and receiving work emails and phone calls outside of regular work hours.
France is the latest jurisdiction to recognize that leaving the office doesn't necessarily mean leaving work, given the technology at our disposal. Several global companies, mostly emanating from Europe, made headlines in the last few years by banning emails after regular work hours, automatically rerouting emails away from the inboxes of employees on vacation and, in some cases, shutting down email servers outside office hours.
There is mounting evidence that frequent email checking both at work and especially after work can be a source of unhealthy stress. The intentions of most employers and governments who are instituting policies or laws around disconnecting are doing so in the best interests of creating a healthier work environment and, in so doing, healthier and ultimately more productive employees.
Though well-intentioned, the email bans met with mixed results. Many employees enjoyed informal and flexible work arrangements with their supervisors, for instance, leaving work early to tend to family matters, given that they later reconnected after their family duties had ceased in the evening. An email server shut down was, in fact, hurting their attempts at work-life balance.
Whether employees are checking emails off the clock because they have been asked to, because they simply like being on top of things and/or struggle to tear themselves away, I applaud the new French law for instituting an annual disconnect conversation. That makes much more sense to me than shutting down of email servers and the like, which considerably hampers the ability of employees and supervisors to craft flexible work arrangements that serve both of their interests.
While many commented that such approaches are less likely to find themselves in law or even in policy in North America, I really like the idea of a mandated annual conversation to clarify expectations and assumptions.
So while employees and their bosses are having the disconnect conversation, why not add a few more items that would be in both of their best interests to check in on at the very least once a year. How about a chat around everything else that falls into grey zones and has employees wondering whether they are on the right or the wrong side of the boss's wishes and expectations. Suppose an employee is spending time wondering about such things or making assumptions due to a lack of clarity. In that case, there is wasted energy, potential anxiety and, most importantly, time spent in doubt that could be put to much more productive use.
In my experience, performance and behaviour often deviate from expectations because we don't take the time to ensure that the boss and employee are on the same page. So how about instituting an annual (at the very least) chat about:
Other elements of flexible arrangements that may serve you both
How you can best meet each other's needs in the way you work together
How to stay connected on rapidly shifting priorities
A keep/stop/start activity where the boss and employee look at several things they do together and agree on which ones they should keep doing, which ones they should stop doing, and what else should they start doing to make the best out of their relationship and meet their objectives.
Some of these items find their way into performance reviews or ongoing check-ins; however, many expectations and assumptions are never discussed in the many comments I receive.
It's still early in the New Year, so how about reconnecting with the people around you and talking about how you work together. If you are to convene the meeting by email, I would advise that you do it during office hours.