By: Danny R. Gall
August 2024
Read Time: 2 ¾ minutes
If you live and work in Ontario, Canada you should, at a minimum, know about the Right to Disconnect work policy that the Conservative government legislated in 2023.
The policy is designed to promote and support stress-reduction and mental health ensuring employees can maintain an appropriate work/life balance and fulfill their family responsibilities.
“Disconnecting from Work” means not engaging in work-related communications, including emails, telephone calls, video calls or the sending or reviewing of other messages, to be free from the performance of work while at home.
The legislation was introduced during the post pandemic to put some mental health suspenders on employees who are and may still be working from home, so that employers do not expect employees to be working 24/7 because they are permitted to work from home rather than the office.
While this is considered a good health-oriented policy, businesses still need to ensure that the policy is in place, employees are informed and aware, and most importantly is supported and adhered to by managers, supervisors and employees alike.
Now, if we look at your Right to Disconnect policy, if it is good for your employees does it not also make sense that this is good policy for your family?
How often do you see parents and children staring blankly at a screen (mobile and otherwise) while family members are speaking or asking a question. This is witnessed at family events, social gatherings, breakfast and dinner tables, etc.
We are engrossed with that damn phone while others are sit idly looking and waiting for your attention.
Employee mental health is a priority, and it is my position that so should be good family mental health at home.
Recently, I started keeping my phone on silent. Not because I don’t want to communicate with people, but because I want to communicate with those that I am actually spending time with (wife, children, grandchildren and friends included).
I understand that the internet and social media are an essential part of our lives, but the point is that both have been with us long enough that the novelty should be worn off by now. We shouldn’t be acting like Pavlov’s dog and be taken away from ‘real’ human interactions just because the phone is pinging, dinging or ringing you.
A suggestion and starting point would be to look at your “At Work Right to Disconnect” policy and take those core elements of the policy that would be most beneficial at home and incorporate it in your home and with your family.
That’s the starting point – the real nuts and bolts of the policy is the buy- in from family members and clear expectations of the repercussions if any family member circumvents the policy. Including and most importantly the parents.
The leaders of the family are no different than good leaders of an organization. We need to lead by example and understand that the most important part of human relations is communication, communication, communication and not texting, texting and more texting.
I truly believe that if we begin to put some parameters on the use of phones and screen time at home it will be a great starting point in supporting and promoting good mental health within our family.
Dan is President of Danny R. Gall Consulting. For more information on developing a Right to Disconnect policy for your company and organization contact directly at dannyrgall@gmail.com
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