Lise Jasmin appreciates the flexibility of her job as a community health nurse in Ottawa, but the mix of at-home and in-office work as well as varied scheduling makes it tough to fully disconnect when she’s off the clock.
There’s little clarity around what to do, for example, if a colleague working a later shift has a question, or whether she’s expected to respond if someone emails her at 10 p.m.
Jasmin is eager to see how her workplace’s new policy on disconnecting from work — now required by law as of this month for all Ontario employers with 25 or more staff — will address those grey areas.
“It’s sometimes a lot of murky waters,” Jasmin said. “Having the policy in place is going to hopefully clear some of that up.”
Affected employers needed to have written policies in place by June 2. They have another 30 days after that to provide those to staff, so many workers like Jasmin are still waiting to see how they spell out expectations.
The new law has created buzz about its potential to give people peace of mind to tune out of digital communications at the end of the workday. But experts and stakeholders say it’s too vague to really move the needle on work-life balance, particularly in the era of hybrid work.
Toronto employment lawyer Deborah Hudson said issues around work-life balance are important to address as hybrid work becomes a permanent feature of many workers’ lives two years after the pandemic upended traditional norms.
But she said Ontario’s law missed an...
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