In Australia workers have been given the right to ignore after-hours calls from work, unless it鈥檚 in their contract/role requires it or an emergency, following on from some European countries (e.g., France) who have done this.听

How likely are we to follow suit in NZ? It's unlikely that it will become law 鈥� since 2015 Health and Safety at work act neither Labour nor National govts appear to have been interested in putting in any more regulations.听

However, debate may increase in kiwi workplaces surrounding the topic.听

There are pros/cons to the discussion 鈥� some will feel it鈥檚 an example of a 鈥渟nowflake鈥� generation who do the bare minimum, others will see it as supporting people to switch off from work when they鈥檙e done.听

Some workplaces say things like 鈥渋f you receive an email from me after hours feel free to ignore it until it鈥檚 your work hours鈥�, which听might be a compromise. We do that at Umbrella, it allows some level of autonomy and responsibility on both ends 鈥� I can send you an email at 11pm but don鈥檛 expect you to respond to it until you鈥檙e at work. You do need to be a bit careful about this as there can be an implied pressure to respond, particularly if the person sending the email is your boss. That links into the topic of how 鈥減sychologically safe鈥� you feel at work to express your opinion (but that鈥檚 a whole other topic!)听

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