Achi news desk-
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labor Code so that employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communications with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, it would affect about 500,000 across the country.
Being always connected, available and in constant work mode is something Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland hopes to avoid in the future.
It’s not healthy, and it’s not a good way to live, Freeland said.
“In other parts of the world, they have legislation that prevents employers from calling employees after work at night,” said Halifax resident Steve Biller, who works for the federal government. “Work-life balance is very important to the government, and it should be important to all employers.”
Registered psychotherapist Nigel Bone agreed, saying there are clear benefits when work-life balance improves.
“I think, individually, the burnout will decrease and that part of not looking at the phone, feeling guilty or ashamed or behind,” Boone said.
California is also considering new legislation that would give most state employees the right to disconnect from their employers during non-work hours. This bill will be the first of its kind in the United States and is similar to existing laws in France, Spain and Belgium.
HR expert Gerald Walsh suggested that this proposed new policy, while well-intentioned, could prove unrealistic.
“Especially when, for example, you might have a workforce spread across four time zones,” Walsh said. “How do you hold a meeting when you have this policy?”
This new program will cost close to $4 million over five years.
“Thankfully it’s only about $4 million and not much more, and the only thing I can really think of would be the cost of developing the policy into law,” Walsh said. “Which requires legal advice and then promoting it through the channels.”
Walsh also said that proposing the right to disconnect from work outside scheduled working hours would call into question what regular working hours are, which have varied considerably in many work sectors.
