Survey shows workers overwhelmingly support ‘right-to-disconnect’ legislation

Barcelona, Spain — Around 9 out of 10 employees are in favor of laws that would allow them to disconnect from email and other communications after hours, according to a recent survey.

Researchers from EmailToolTester.com asked more than 1,100 U.S. workers how everyday work emails and messages affect their mental health and personal lives.

Findings show that, on average, the workers spend two hours and 45 minutes a day on digital communications. More than half (52%) indicated they spend more than three hours a day managing digital correspondence, while 13% said they spend five hours or more on the task.

As a result, the workers are increasingly flustered with the time commitment, as evidenced by:

• 79% feel dread when opening their email inbox.
• 81% report feeling anxiety over email correspondence, with 59% experiencing it regularly.
• 71.1% said they’re expected to respond to emails after hours.

The effect is being felt beyond the workplace. Around 2 out 3 workers and 4 out of 5 business owners and CEOs said they’ve lost sleep over work emails. Additionally, 74% of the respondents reported communicating less with loved ones because of burnout from work-related communications.

In April, the California Assembly’s Labor and Employment Committee advanced legislation (A.B. 2751) that would ensure workers have uninterrupted personal time by establishing a “right to disconnect” from after-hours calls, emails and text messages. The bill is before the Appropriations Committee.

Despite workers’ concerns, 71% of those surveyed said they believe their employer would resist such measures.