Belgian government workers will no longer need to answer phone calls or email out of hours after the country became the latest in Europe to provide workers with the right to disconnect.
The new law means that over 65,000 civil servants are able to make themselves inaccessible at the end of the working program unless there are “exceptional” reasons for not doing so. Petra De Sutter, the Belgian minister for the public administration, declared that this right would be codified into law as a way to combat “excessive work stress and burnout’ among governmental workers.
So far, managers and trade unions have made clear arrangements to define the new circumstances, but De Sutter has stressed the fact that workers’ families, rest, and holidays must be respected.
The new law also specifies that governmental employees “should not be disadvantaged by mounting reading work-related emails or answering the phone outside normal working hours.”
The whole point is to address the blurry line between work and personal life, especially with so many WFH employees during the pandemic.
A BDO Belgium survey about remote work showed that 40% of employees in managerial positions wanted to work from home for two or more days a week after the pandemic, mentioning the lack of commute and increase in productivity. But the Belgian minister is among people who also see the unintended consequences of working from home.
They continue to have their computers on while reading the emails they receive after hours. Now they’re given the legal right to disconnect and protect their personal time and space.
De Sutter also said the new law seeks to protect employees’ basic rights but should be an impediment to flexible working if that’s what they want.
The Belgian government also bids to move to a four-day week of 38 to 40 hours for full-time workers. That would mean longer workdays and shorter workweeks.
But Belgium isn’t the only European country that has acted toward reducing burnout and restoring work-life balance in recent years. In Germany, for example, Volkswagen is banning employees from accessing emails after work hours, while France has already enacted a law that requires businesses with more than 50 workers to designate hours during which employees are not sent or receive emails.
In 2021 Portugal passed a law banning employers from texting workers after they sign off. It seems that employers who don’t follow the rules are likely to face financial penalties like having to pay for employees’ electricity or gas bills.
What can managers do to avoid employee burnout?
As the pandemic continues to impact businesses of all sizes, including governmental organisations, employee burnout is at historic levels. More than 70% of workers reported being burned out and feeling their managers or bosses aren’t doing enough to address workplace burnout.
Even so, employee lack of motivation and energy doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a series of triggers that take place over time, causing even the most reliable team member to become disengaged. This physical and emotional exhaustion often leads to increased cynicism, lack of professional efficiency, lack of engagement and energy.
Some warning signs of burnout include:
- Lack of motivation
- Detached from the workplace culture
- Not being able to make decisions
- Irritable and more sensitive to feedback
Here are 3 ways organisations can begin to address employee burnout:
Promote A Mental Health Friendly Culture
Managing burnout is about changing workplace habits, identifying root causes and employing leadership to set the tone moving forward. People expect their managers to teach the norms and acceptable behaviours of the workplace. Thus, managers need to be leading examples of mental health and well-being. That means they need to seek the feedback of their teams to understand what’s causing the stress. Burnout can stem from so many things like an unmanageable workload, inflexible work schedule, no support, no role clarity, unfair treatment and unrealistic deadlines, to name a few.
Employers can start to reverse burnout by:
- Creating a mental health strategy and actively promoting workers’ well-being
- Mitigate an overwhelming workload
- Re-evaluate workplace policies to create more flexibility for workers
- Encourage workers to take mental health breaks throughout the day
- Encourage employees to use their vacation days
Incorporate Productivity Tools
Without easy systems for logging and tracking the process of tasks, employees waste a lot of their time. However, a host of productivity tools can get all tasks in a clear and user-friendly format to help managers keep track of employees’ work and more.
Communication tools allow teams to discuss urgent matters in a straightforward, structured way and avoid information being lost in a crowded email inbox. PDF editing tools, on the other hand, can help employees stay productive on various devices and waste no time. They can work on their documents, rearrange PDF files online, access files in the cloud and stay on top of their tasks at home, at the office and on the move.
Provide Work Flexibility
More than 82% of employees said they would remain more loyal to their employeers if they had more flexibility at work. They are also willing to give up a percentage of their income for flexible office hours. Many organisations have already begun providing flexible work options to their employees in the form of part-time work, telecommuting or remote work. It seems that flexibility comes with many benefits for employees, including:
- More time off of work
- Work and travel at the same time
- Plan their own schedules
- Spend more time with family
- Healthier work/life balance
Improving employee productivity is all about looking for their well-being by ensuring they’re happy as possible with their work environment, work patterns, and work-life balance, which will, in turn, make them more content and productive. It’s also about helping them avoid burnout by providing them with tools to use their time as efficiently as possible.
