‘Burnout and depression’: 24/7 demands of work have many workers wanting to disconnect

Workers in Australia don’t have to respond to work emails or texts after hours.

This past summer, a “Right to Disconnect” law was passed down under.

Many stressed-out workers here now say they want the same kind of protection.

“I think you just need to disassociate on the weekends and relax and not be stressed out about work,” said one worker in Westwood.

Another woman said “There should absolutely be limits. People want their private time and why should your job infringe upon that?”

Following the action in Australia, similar proposals were filed in California and New York City.

Elaine Varelas, a senior executive at Keystone Partners, a human resource consulting firm, believes this trend has huge momentum right now.

She says being tethered to work electronically 24-7 has consequences.

“I think it’s causing burnout and it’s causing depression. Just feeling like you can’t walk away from your phone or your computer is too much for anyone to ask for.”

A survey of 1,100 US workers conducted by www.emailtooltester.com found that 71% feel they’re expected to respond to emails after hours.

74% said they’re communicating less with loved ones because of burnout from work-related communications.

90% said they favor laws that allow them to disconnect without facing consequences.

“You’re seeing an upswell of employees say they need a break,” said Varelas.

She thinks corporate managers are listening.

“I think the goal is always to get companies to deal with this themselves, that once anything about gets into legislation, we’re in trouble.”

Some workers told Boston 25 News workers in certain fields should expect to be contacted at any time.

One woman said “I spent 35 years in the medical field, and I know if you are needed, you’re needed. You pick up your stuff and go.”

A man who does emergency sprinkler work said, “You know you signed up for it, so you’ve got to take the call when the phone rings at 2 in the morning.”

But for most workers, they’d like to be able to disconnect without fear of reprisal.

“You need your time off to be more productive when you are at work, and that’s sort of what a lot of the research shows,” added one woman.

While many in that survey say they’d prefer to be left alone, 75% still said they feel it’s necessary to respond for career advancement.

More than half of the respondents say they regularly answer work emails when they’re on vacation.

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