Switching off from work

With the UK government committed to embedding the right to switch off from work into codes of practice, we take a look at research from European countries to see what we can learn about switching off from work.

WHAT IS IT?

Switching off from work refers to the ability to complete tasks and responsibilities within contracted working hours and/or only receiving work communications within contracted or regular working hours.

WHY DOES IT MATTER?

Work outside regular or contracted hours is becoming increasingly common with 80% of workers reporting they receive work communications out-of-hours. 

This is proving detrimental to employees with 43% of women and 30% of men reporting deterioration in their mental health and wellbeing. 

WHAT IS CAUSING THE INCREASE IN WORK AND COMMUNICATIONS OUTSIDE WORKING HOURS?

• Changes in technology mean we are living increasing digitally connected lives resulting in the development of an ‘always on’ culture.
• The trend towards globalised knowledge based, service centred economies means more jobs can be done remotely some or all of the time.
• Increasing access to informal flexibility i.e. able to flex an hour or two to attend to personal matters (37% of men and 29% of women report easy access to this type of flexibility) leads to more variation in working hours across teams. 

We also take a look at why people are working and responding out of hours and which employees are finding it hardest to switch off in the summary of the research which you can access here.