The Right to Disconnect: Culture>Compliance?
The festive season has come and gone. As we step into January 2025, most of us are settling back into work after a well-earned break.
For many, the Christmas holidays were a chance to recharge, activating our auto-replies en masse and silencing the relentless buzz of workplace notifications (at least temporarily). But for some, putting the phone down and keeping the laptop closed felt like a hard ask.
This got me thinking... about the Right to Disconnect.
This legislation, introduced in August 2024, was designed to combat burnout and our “always-on” work culture. But the latest research by Indeed shows they’re not working as intended. Why? Because they represent a minimum standard—a starting point rather than a solution.
Could the answer lie in culture, not just compliance?
Why Are the Right to Disconnect Laws Falling Short?
Australia’s Right to Disconnect laws grant employees (at businesses with 15+ people) the right to refuse contact outside of hours—be it emails, texts, or calls. Staff are not obliged to monitor, respond, or read messages during their downtime. Notably, these protections exclude “reasonable contact” and won’t apply to small businesses until August 2025.
On paper, the legislation offers much-needed boundaries between work and life. But recent data paints a different picture.
Research by Indeed found that:
4 out of 5 Australian workers have been contacted outside of work hours.
65% have been contacted on personal leave.
79% of employees still feel unable to assert their rights.
Workplace psychologist Amanda Gordon says workers fear “missing a promotion, causing project delays, or damaging their professional reputation.”
On the flip side, nearly half of employers (47%) worry the laws could hurt productivity.
Clearly, there’s a disconnect. Perhaps these issues point to a deeper truth…
The Right to Disconnect is a baseline, not a blueprint for high performance.
From Compliance to High Performance Culture
Legislation like The Right to Disconnect ensures that businesses can’t exploit technology’s reach to demand 24/7 availability. While these laws are critical for protecting workers from burnout and preserving equity, they’re just the minimum standard.
If you’re striving for more — innovation, market leadership, transformation — the minimum standards simply aren’t going to cut it.
High performance requires deliberate design — understanding business goals, cultural dynamics and human needs.
A few tips to start this process:
Understand human rhythms: Research on human performance is clear — we can’t always be on. To perform optimally, humans need a rhythm of peaks, troughs, and recovery periods. Educate leaders and employees on what optimal performance really looks like, and the true value of each stage. For example, rest may not feel like work, but it's a vital part of the overall cycle.
Role model rest and recovery: If you pinch time from recovery to “fit more in”, you pay the price with poor decision-making, increased risk, and eventual burnout. Leaders set the tone. If the CEO prioritises and promotes time off, everyone else will feel they are safe to disconnect.
Prioritise psychological safety: Trust and open communication are essential for navigating the nuances of flexible work. Make open conversations about energy levels and performance the norm.
Create a culture of customisation: Consider this: Not all employees want or need the same boundaries. Some feel restricted by rigid rules, and value the option to respond to critical issues when they arise, even outside regular hours. Not everyone’s peak performance period happens within a 9-to-5 window. For these individuals, the key is allowing flexibility and agency—the freedom to set their own limits and align their work with their natural rhythms.
The Right to Disconnect is a start, but culture drives real change.
Make 2025 the year you lay the foundations for a more human way to high performance. Contact me to find out how.
