Australian workers now have the right to disconnect from work after hours. Whether the legal profession takes advantage depends on an openness to culture change and reimagining client relationships.
In a landmark change to employment law, Australian workers can now refuse to monitor, read or respond to calls, texts, emails and other forms of contact outside working hours, unless that refusal is unreasonable.
The ‘right to disconnect’ is a response to the encroachment of work into personal life and growing concerns about work-related mental health issues linked to stress and overwork.
But what of professions like law where practitioners are expected to work long hours and service demanding clients, and are generally well-renumerated for their trouble – will these new laws make a meaningful difference to lawyers’ working habits?
Some commentators believe this regulatory change will help to balance the advantages of digital flexibility with protections against overwork, but there are concerns about enforceability and the appetite of law firms and employers across the profession to tolerate a cultural shift in the way practitioners work.
Continue reading Will lawyers exercise the right to disconnect?
