In theory, working from home should improve your work-life balance. In reality, though, many of us who have swapped our offices for our kitchens during the pandemic have ended up spending longer at our desks and more time answering out-of-hours emails. The boundaries between our professional and personal lives are becoming increasingly blurry, leading to stress, exhaustion and burnout.
Simply putting your laptop or phone away after hours is easier said than done, however. Job insecurity – and the urge to prove your worth by being available 24/7 – means we feel pressure to put in excessive overtime. To counter this always-on, hustle culture, some countries are implementing “right to disconnect” legislation to allow people to log off from their jobs without being penalised.
In the UK, the union Prospect – which represents scientists, engineers, civil servants and other specialists – has called for companies to be legally required to bring in rules on when…
