In a quest for work flexibility and work-life balance, five controversial trends—“coffee badging,” “shadow policies,” “quiet quitting,” “Chronoworking” and “NATO applying”—are afoot within the American workforce. These movements are natural segues into California’s groundbreaking “Right to Disconnect” bill, which further aims to redefine boundaries and enhance work-life balance, albeit amidst some executive resistance. If passed, the bill would make California the first state to legally protect employees from after-hour messages from work.

A Change Is Gonna Come

In the words of the old Sam Cooke song, “A Change is Gonna Come.” I reached out to Leapsome’s Luck Dookchitra, HR expert and VP of people to get an expert opinion on changes the law would bring. “As with any change, things will take time for people and companies to adjust to new habits and processes,” Dookchitra responded, noting that 74% of employees planning to leave their jobs cite poor work-life balance as a reason and how implementing this law will help employees achieve a better balance, boosting job satisfaction and retention.

“We know that stepping away from work and disconnecting helps replenish, recharge and re-motivate us, injecting new ideas and creativity into our work upon our return,” Dookchitra explains. “Never switching off—working after hours and on weekends—has the opposite effect and, ultimately, risks leading to burnout which will cost the individual, the team they’re a part of, and the company they work for a lot more.”

Dookchitra told me the underlying premise of the law is to provide employees with better health outcomes–alleviating stress and burnout which has become even more abundant following the last post-covid years and to rein in abusive employers and leaders who may be forcing workers to work beyond the clock, adding, “I imagine companies that already value flexibility and worker well-being will adapt readily to this law, regardless of state, and in fact, use it as an opportunity to clarify it’s practices, policies, and expectations.”

In my own digging, I found that, although the United States doesn’t have laws forbidding employers from contacting employees after work yet, the California bill isn’t the first efforts to try to stop companies from violating employees’ after-hours boundaries. It’s already the law in some countries. Employers can be in hot water for contacting employees after work hours in Portugal and France and that includes emails. In an effort to promote healthy work-life balance more countries are outlawing the practice of companies violating employee private boundaries after the workday is done. A similar bill has been debated in New York City to make it illegal to force employees to answer work communications outside of work hours.

Should After-Work Contact Be Illegal?

The new proposed law raises the question whether after-hour contact should be illegal. “We’re in such an interesting time where we lawmakers, employees and employers are redefining the future of work–some more begrudgingly than others,” Kookchitra points out. “The last few years have shown us there are very new and effective ways of getting work done and being productive versus the traditional work day/traditional office settings. I think the potential effects on productivity and workplace dynamics with this new law could be profound for workplaces and leaders that value worker well-being.”

The majority of employees who have been surveyed are onboard with Kookchitra. A 2022 survey of 1,000 employed Americans by Skynova found that nearly 70% of workers reported their employer contacts them outside of normal work hours at least once a week. Almost two in five employees said they work outside of scheduled hours because their boss expects it, and 63.3% believe it should be illegal for employers to contact them outside of working hours.

More recently, Clarify Capital surveyed 1,000 employees and business executives about the bill. Results detected a deep divide between employees and management.

• 83% of employees support the “Right to Disconnect” bill.
• Business executives are 75% more likely to oppose the “Right to Disconnect” bill.
• Nearly three in five employees feel obligated to respond to work-related communications outside of work hours.
• On average, two in five employees make themselves available to respond to work-related communications for nine or more hours per workday.
• One in three business executives expect their employees to respond to work-related communications outside of work hours.

Dookchitra believes employers who embrace the law and consider it as added value for their employees and workplace will see more productivity, creativity and connection with their employees than companies who see it as another obstacle to be subverted.

“The important and interesting thing to note when it comes to this bill is there is a difference between working outside traditional office hours because that is an employee’s preference and doing so because their manager is contacting them and requiring them to respond,” she clarifies. “This new law would force businesses to revisit policies and procedures and clarify expectations. Businesses and leaders would need to more clearly define what is expected from the workday and set more realistic expectations. This clarity could lead to higher productivity and also higher quality. The change would also encourage workers to consciously create separation between work life and their personal lives. As we know, some people are always ‘switched on’ or tied to their workplace systems. Being forced to separate work and life would likely lead to more creativity and engagement at work in the long run.”

A Final Takeaway

In closing, Dookchitra points out that laws are already changing throughout the world as a result of the pandemic and the new lifestyle and caretaker responsibilities that modern life and technology have unearthed in recent years. “I believe there will continue to be a movement towards worker well-being and flexibility. I believe businesses will think both about the bottom line and ROI but also about the most important ways to keep top talent,” she posits, further predicting that the traditional way of working will continue to be turned on its side to test out new practices and policies and that there will continue to be interplay between laws, compliance and worker benefits and perks. “I believe these benefits and perks (including a flexible work schedule and remote work) will continue to factor in just as much as salaries and cash have in the past,” she concludes. “Companies will need to continually define their stance on these topics—even without external forces like state-based laws— because workers are demanding a new way of working.”