The Right To Disconnect
In a world plagued by phones pinging 24/7, and an industry which never sleeps, what happens to us and to our work when we never switch off? Most of us know what happens, because it’s our daily (and nightly!) experience. And that’s why more and more people are realising that this unsustainable behaviour has to stop. But how? Madeleine Geach of The Good Life Coaching is here to tell all of us how, with invaluable pointers for employees to regain their life outside work and their mind in work, and for employers to implement realistic, workable policies which truly transform workplace culture and productivity.
Let’s use these tools to make the changes we need to see, for ourselves, for those around us and for the sustainability of our industry.
Not working makes us better at working. It may sound counterintuitive but switching off work (a.k.a the The Right to Disconnect) leads to better results for us as people and for the businesses we run or work in. One good reason? Without breaks, our brains cannot function at their best.
How do brains work?
The brain’s logical zone is called the Pre-Frontal Cortex (PFC). This is the part of your brain that thinks, plans, prioritises, problem solves, troubleshoots, strategizes, keeps calm under pressure. In fact, all the skills you need to run a busy service or successful restaurant hang out in your PFC.
The PFC works like a battery. It has limited capacity and a finite amount of energy. It needs to be recharged daily to build up its stores. If we don’t switch off work when we are not there and if we don’t take the time to recharge, our ability to work well is, quite simply, shot.
What is the Right To Disconnect?
The Right to Disconnect means that every employee is able to switch off outside of their normal working hours and enjoy their free time away from work without being disturbed, unless there is an emergency. It has been proposed as a human right, and has been made a legal right in many countries – it’s a pretty big deal. Hospitality is still catching up; 7 days a week, day-to-night operations can find it a challenge to implement. But there are steps we can take!
What can you do on an individual level?
Here are 7 things you can do to help switch off work (or as one leader I worked with recently put it, here’s how to ‘clock off and f*ck off).
1. PLAN TOMORROW Taking the last 15 minutes at work to look ahead avoids carrying concerns home.
2. PHONE AWAY Can’t stop yourself looking at work messages when off-duty? I know, it’s addictive. Try turning off your notifications, and switching on do not disturb. Put your phone in a different room or consider buying a phone lock.
3. HAND OVER WELL A well-communicated handover will help your team and allow you to walk away knowing they are fully briefed so you can leave work behind.
4. SAY GOODBYE Proper hellos, goodbyes and thank yous mean a lot to your team. And they set the right tone; leaving work is not an act of guilt but a normal part of your work/life balance. Goodbyes help draw a line under your workday and help you transition into your personal day.
5. DON’T FAFF When your brain is fried you can more easily spend an extra hour doing pointless stuff + working inefficiently. Leave the building efficiently instead and save your energy!
6. HAVE A SWITCH OFF RITUAL For one of my clients it’s doing a puzzle on the journey home, for another it’s putting their headphones on and playing some Billy Joel. Having the same action you take every time you leave work sends a signal to your brain that work is over.
7. DO WHAT YOU LOVE Switching on to something you love and enjoy outside of work is the best way to switch off.
What can businesses do?
The biggest threat to people being able to switch off work across the industry is the volume of emails and instant messaging they are receiving outside of their working hours. So, the first most important thing a business can do to help their teams switch off is to have, and communicate, a basic comms policy. This is simply some guidelines on email and instant messaging use.
You may consider:
- Encouraging the use of scheduled sends – so people are not being messaged during down time where possible
- Outlining that you do not expect people to check messages on days off
- Encouraging out of office messages – so people can signal when they are not readily available
- Deciding how quickly emails should be replied to – and acknowledging that emails are not the best mode for urgent replies
- Deciding how/when to send emergency messages – so people can switch off email and messaging when appropriate, for peace of mind
- Outlining a shared understanding of what an emergency consists of
- A comms black out – you may consider a certain day of the week that no team messages are sent, for example a day your restaurant is closed
- Tips on managing instant messaging groups – such as keeping them in archive so you can check them regularly during work hours, but they are not vying for your attention when you are off work
And finally…
Switching off work is not about caring less or abdicating responsibility. It’s about having healthy boundaries so people can recharge and be at their best for their teams and businesses tomorrow.
What is your first small step?
Madeleine Geach – Countertalk’s resident leadership coach – runs The Good Life coaching and courses for the hospitality industry. Part of her work involves training and advising restaurant businesses on their communication.