What to know about disconnecting from work outside office hours

A new Toronto Metropolitan University policy aims to support university employees in balancing their work and personal lives.

In June, TMU released its Disconnecting from Work policy in response to the provincial government December 2021 amendments to the Employment Standards Act. (external link) 

The policy reinforces the university’s existing norms and policies, and its commitment to encourage employees to disconnect from work outside of their working hours. 

To learn more about why the policy is so important, how hybrid work impacts disconnecting from work and more, we reached out to Professor Opeyemi Akanbi in The Creative School’s Professional Communication program. Professor Akanbi’s research focuses on privacy, media regulation, labour and technology, and the political economy of digital media.

TMT: In August 2021, Toronto Metropolitan University implemented the Future of Work initiative to guide leaders in implementing hybrid work models so that together we can develop a stronger, more robust, more flexible approach to serving our community.  What are key considerations for employees when it comes to disconnecting from work? Do you have suggestions about how we can benefit from working flexibly while continuing to respect boundaries for ourselves and colleagues around disconnecting from work?

OP: A lot of the conversation has focused on the role of employers in ensuring work boundaries but beyond concerns of top-down policy, there are issues to consider at the lateral level. Workplace culture is jointly created so faculty and staff need to think carefully about how their work practices affect their colleagues. If you are working late on a project, your collaborators may feel pressured to work late as well so there is some obligation to let people know that they are not obliged to work the same hours, provided they complete their tasks. 

Hillary Clinton reportedly spent the early and late hours of the day working from home instead of the office so that her staff could spend time with their families. I think that is considerate. Some people also note in their emails: “reply at your convenience.”

I think it is a recognition of the power dynamics exerted even among colleagues and a deliberate attempt to emphasize flexibility. The same way companies are clarifying their policies around disconnecting from work, individual employees need to be similarly transparent around the expectations they have of their colleagues on particular projects.

What are the risks of not supporting employees in genuinely disconnecting from work? What’s the impact on the employee and on the workplace?

When organizations fail to support the need for employees to disconnect from work, it leads to dissatisfaction, burnout and could result in attrition. Already, employees are becoming more vocal about this issue. In a very rarely seen public move, junior bankers at an investment bank (external link)  complained about long hours, prompting their employer to institute policies to address the situation. I think we are going to see more of that kind of refusal to accept constant availability as the status quo. 

Of course labour’s capacity to negotiate work time has historically been tempered by market conditions (demand and supply of employees). Legislation could offer employees more leverage but the law around the right to disconnect has largely been about mandating disclosure not forcing organizations to reduce work hours. 

For employees, the consequences can be poor physical and mental health, an inability to nurture family and community connections, and low engagement in political life. Of course these result in poor outcomes for society broadly. I think overall, we are seeing that people don’t want their identities defined by work.

In your recent interview with Toronto Life (external link)  about the Disconnecting from Work Policy, you noted that it's important that we normalize conversations around disconnecting from work so that employees can advocate for themselves and their needs. Can you provide some practical strategies for how both employees and leaders can approach/normalize this conversation?

Organizations need to take the lead here. The policies around when employees can disconnect is one such practical strategy. Workplace policies around the right to disconnect can create the right environment for employees to discuss their availability. Also, workplace communication tools have features to help employees signal their availability. 

Once employees are sure they will not be penalized for maintaining reasonable work boundaries, these tools can be transformed from being just tools for connection to work to becoming boundary management tools. Moreover, some of these tools have automatic reminders that alert employees when they try to contact their colleagues outside of designated work time. 

As a follow up to the previous question, sometimes leaders think they are doing a good job supporting their employees' mental health and well-being, including disconnecting from work, yet employees may not share that perspective. Do you have any ideas as to why that is and tips for leaders on how they can ensure they are optimally supporting their employees?

Employees may believe that management pays lip service to employee well-being, if at all, and cares primarily about productivity. It is an agelong tension between management and employees, and goes to the very heart of our economic system. Within that system, some organizations have managed to develop resources to help their employees negotiate work boundaries. 

These resources include departments dedicated to promoting mental health and well-being, access to accommodations without onerous processes of proving disability, and onsite well-being programs. One note of caution though, it is very easy for organizations to fall into the trap of putting on a good show for PR purposes instead of asking what employees really want. 

Mental health days and office yoga won’t make up for a toxic work environment. Also, initiatives that may seem like a good idea to management and some employees may not resonate with others, which is the reason for flexibility—offering employees some rein in designing their individual work schedules. 

As an institution, TMU is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion. Can you tell us a bit about how equity-deserving groups in particular are impacted by the disconnecting from work policy, and what can individual leaders do to ensure equal access and fair treatment?

Employees from equity-deserving groups would certainly reap the benefits of a cultural shift. Once we normalize conversations around work boundaries, an employee from a racialized group may feel less pressure to be a “model minority” by always being available and a woman may feel more comfortable being upfront about caregiving responsibilities. 

Leaders can encourage employees to disconnect, maybe even require it in some cases. They can be open about their own boundary management practices. Some leaders structure their calendars to accommodate their caregiving responsibilities and let team members know. Others are open about living with various disabilities. That helps employees know that it is okay to disconnect and attend to caregiving and well-being. 

There is always the concern about privacy though so while some leaders may feel safe disclosing that they have certain obligations or identify in particular ways, employees more generally may prefer to keep such information private. The key is to offer enough flexibility for employees to navigate their preferred work boundaries without feeling like they need to disclose private information such as invisible health conditions. 

As a result of a long history of discrimination, leaders may find that members of equity-deserving groups are wary of well-being initiatives. Fortunately, there are EDI consultants to assist with implementation. 

Learn more about disconnecting from work

While leaders play an especially important role, all faculty, staff and students play a part in creating environments where employees can disconnect from work. Faculty, staff and leaders are encouraged to review TMU’s Disconnecting from Work FAQs online. In particular, leaders may want to review additional ways to support your teams with disconnecting from work.

Read more from Professor Akanbi who spoke to Toronto Life on the evolving nature of work and the ‘right to disconnect’ law. (external link)