A roundtable discussion to explore ways of reducing stress in the workplace. Even though there is much talk about the benefits of a healthy work-life balance, as a society, we do not appear to have done much about it.
If anything, the boundaries between our work and personal lives appear to have become even more blurred. More employees check work emails on their personal phones, tablets and computers in the evenings and at weekends. Given their willingness to do this, what is our approach towards our staff looking at their personal emails, checking social media and making their own calls in the workplace?
Last year, the French brought in the ‘right to disconnect’ law to “ensure the respect of rest time and vacation, as well as personal and family life”. This somewhat ambivalent guideline requires companies with more than 50 employees to discourage staff from checking company emails outside of contractual working hours in an attempt to prevent stress and restore the work-life balance.
Richard McBarnet is hosting a roundtable discussion to see if there is consensus that we should be encouraging the same values as France and, if so, how do we promote and enforce them, and how can technology help?