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New York Councilman Proposes Bill That Would Grant NYC Workers 'Right To Disconnect' (vice.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motherboard: New York City councilman Rafael Espinal released a "Right to Disconnect" bill on Thursday, advocating for the rights of employees to stop answering work-related emails and other digital messages, like texts, after official work hours. "Our work lives have spilled into our personal lives because of technology," he told me. "It's time we unblur and strike a clear line." Brooklyn-based Espinal said he got the idea from France, where a bill passed early last year by the Ministry of Labor requires companies of over 50 employees to define out-of-office email rules. He wanted to create a similar guideline so that workers would not be penalized for disconnecting after work hours. But that's France -- known for joie de vivre -- and this is New York, known for not sleeping.
Answering work emails after work hours, or during weekends, or on vacation, has become par for the course here, and across the US. Statistics rarely account for the extra hours spent managing post-office work -- by most official counts, Americans work the same number of hours -- around 39 to 47 per week -- just as we did in the 1950s. But those of us living it know this isn't true: technology has completely changed the way we work, and burnout is rampant among American workers. If Espinal were able to implement the bill, it would face similar challenges to its European counterparts. Critics say the legislation in France has no teeth, and companies are still allowed to define their own guidelines, leaving room for exploitation. And the New York version of the "Right to Disconnect" bill includes exemptions for jobs that require 24-hour on-call periods.
Answering work emails after work hours, or during weekends, or on vacation, has become par for the course here, and across the US. Statistics rarely account for the extra hours spent managing post-office work -- by most official counts, Americans work the same number of hours -- around 39 to 47 per week -- just as we did in the 1950s. But those of us living it know this isn't true: technology has completely changed the way we work, and burnout is rampant among American workers. If Espinal were able to implement the bill, it would face similar challenges to its European counterparts. Critics say the legislation in France has no teeth, and companies are still allowed to define their own guidelines, leaving room for exploitation. And the New York version of the "Right to Disconnect" bill includes exemptions for jobs that require 24-hour on-call periods.
Only sheeples would answer emails / phonecalls from employers after working hours.
Throughout the decades of my career I never answer anything.from my boss (on work related stuff) after hour.
The company pays me for the hours I work, and they do not pay me for the hours I do not work.
Therefore, I only work on the hours they pay me.
End of story.
from own-recognizance
“Wimps don’t want to answer emails at 1:00 A.M. on Saturday night they can always quit.” I imagine that will be the general gist of the commentary to follow. I think that there should be some labor rules as employees generally don’t have much bargaining power anymore. It will be interesting to see how they plan to enforce this.
Any job that involved email, off as soon as I walked out the door. My time is my time. Some have complained that I didn't reply at 10pm at night, I don't get on-call pay so I don't answer.
I can't help but wonder if New York City councilman Rafael Espinal's staff will be allowed to opt-out of after-hours emails without consequences?
I suspect not, just as OSHA regulations don't apply to congressional staffers.
Ken
and all 60 of them -- will have TRUMP doing something, somewhere, to distract. Whatever it is TRUMP has planned it will be a DOOSIE!
across the US. Statistics rarely account for the extra hours spent managing post-office work
Well, why would they? For most people, the extra hours spent managing the post-office is not all that significant.
I don't trust atoms -- they make up stuff.
Important people who had to be on call had an extra landline phone connected just for work.
Later generations had a pager.
People with needed skills remained in contact in the past.
Doing emails and work related digital messages sounds like the city has not hired enough people on merit.
Skilled people get their work done during their work shift.
Then another shift of skilled people take over with the ability to get more work done.
Try finding people who can do the work without having to send more work out after hours.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
what about more unions and UBI
Personally I find doing code reviews in the evening relaxing.
Viva la working not very much. The Chinese will kill us with their hard work ethic if we let this dumb shit happen. @trump help!
They have a right to disconnect and I have a right to terminate their work relationship with my business. We're in the 21st Century: flexibility, agility and availability are mandatory. Those who cannot or will not adapt are doomed to fall by the wayside.
But I decided I am just going to quit.
If I were ever required or expected to work after hours, then that's a "thanks, but no thanks" - There are plenty of jobs out there. You want me to work in the evening? You pay me for that. The more idiots who accept to be bullied, the more bullying there will be. I consider myself lucky not have been born in the US, where it seems slavery never ended, after all
This goes both ways, I have always been happy to answer the odd call, slack message outside my normal hours. In a flexible work culture not everyone works the same office hours as you. It doesnâ(TM)t take much to write a quick reply and then switch off again. No big deal.
Does that mean New Yorkers don't have the right to put their work cellphones in the office drawer when they leave?
They get more than enough of my work, and my salary and bonuses reflect this.
You think so? Whatever you're being paid, I'd demand 3x as much.
I was in your situation once. Being on call 24/7 - even on "vacations" and holidays - wasn't worth it.
Especially when I had to call a 'C' suite executive only to find out that he was on vacation and couldn't be reached.
But - some people love what you do.
I've worked on many projects with global teams. Meetings commonly happen during work hours in different time zones.
Stories like this prove the US is nowhere near full employment. We will be at full employment when employees feel comfortable saying no to working nights and weekends.
Slavery was abolished in 1865 yet companies American's work for insists that emails & texts be answered after "clocking out" and without pay, in my mind that is slavery. Because if that employee disconnects from work, they may get fired or demoted. But this issue is not new, since the bag phone & pager were invented in the 1980's, it has been a struggle to figure out when business ends & personal life begins for the employee.