EU Pushes for 'Right To Disconnect' From Work at Home (dw.com) 63
An anonymous reader shares a report: The coronavirus pandemic has not only upended social life across Europe but dramatically changed the way people work. With ever more people working from home -- roughly a third of all employees within the bloc according to the Associated Press (AP) -- and needing to be constantly reachable, the boundaries between work and private life have become increasingly hazy. On Wednesday, EU lawmakers passed a non-binding resolution arguing that individuals have a fundamental "right to disconnect." The European Parliament Employment Committee voted 31-to-6, with 18 abstentions, in favor of allowing people to take time off and urged the European Commission to create rules that "catch up with the new reality" of work, according to Alex Agius Saliba, the Maltese Socialist politician who spearheaded the resolution.
"After months of teleworking, many workers are now suffering from negative side effects such as isolation, fatigue, depression, burnout, muscular or eye illnesses," said Saliba, adding: "The pressure to always be reachable, always available, is mounting, resulting in unpaid overtime and burnout." The committee measure must now be approved by the full chamber before it can be submitted to the Commission and EU member state governments for a vote. Lawmakers in favor of the resolution say the need for employees to be available via smartphone or e-mail around the clock is detrimental to mental health and well-being and that workers should be allowed to be offline without suffering employer retribution as a result.
"After months of teleworking, many workers are now suffering from negative side effects such as isolation, fatigue, depression, burnout, muscular or eye illnesses," said Saliba, adding: "The pressure to always be reachable, always available, is mounting, resulting in unpaid overtime and burnout." The committee measure must now be approved by the full chamber before it can be submitted to the Commission and EU member state governments for a vote. Lawmakers in favor of the resolution say the need for employees to be available via smartphone or e-mail around the clock is detrimental to mental health and well-being and that workers should be allowed to be offline without suffering employer retribution as a result.
Re: Slashdot's filters are a joke. (Score:2)
Slashdot is a zombie, my friend. The problem we who are still hanging out here have, is that there is nothing better out there. ... well, you probably know better words for "cancer" than me.
Ycombinator is toxic as hell. Don't try to ipsettheir ingrained ideologies.
Reddit is
What else is there that isn't tiny or even more dead and rotten than Slashdot? (Digg being the latter.)
If you want someone to be available 24/7 (Score:5, Insightful)
You can pay them for 168 hours a week. If you email me outside of my work hours and I respond, it's only because I'm being nice.
Re:If you want someone to be available 24/7 (Score:4, Informative)
Re: If you want someone to be available 24/7 (Score:3)
Which is why it is a non-binding resolution. The laws already cover this. The resolution is just a "friendly reminder, ... or else". Of that shit don't stop, the court cases will roll in. Now with judges being fully aware what position they are expected to take. And employees having the condfidence that they will win if they sue.
Problem is of course: If you sue your employer, your job will be hell afterwards. Might as well quit and sue at the same time.
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I worked for the Dutch section of a British company and the Brits had (have) the idea their personnel is their property.
In The Netherlands we have laws that make a Works Council a mandatory part of running a company of a certain size and it has a big say in the implementation of the working hours.
We negotiated with the management and came to an agreement, when we were called out of hours we can write down an hour of work as a minimum.
O
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it should pretty clearly fall under existing laws about paying employees for their time
It pretty clearly DOESN'T fall under existing laws in the US, where employers have considerable leeway to classify many professional positions as salaried.
My job is often classified as salaried. This doesn't mean that every employer will try to get more than 40 hours/week without additional pay... well, actually, yes, pretty much all of them will try it at some point.
Some of them will back off in the face of resistance, but others will just terminate.
So, no, I cannot agree at all. I am absolutely certain th
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It pretty clearly DOESN'T fall under existing laws in the US
"EU" is right in the headline. Unlike here in the US, they generally don't like employees being abused.
This doesn't mean that every employer will try to get more than 40 hours/week without additional pay... well, actually, yes, pretty much all of them will try it at some point.
Not mine. If I log more than 40 hours in a week, the extra is automatically added to my vacation time.
Salaried employees (Score:5, Insightful)
You can pay them for 168 hours a week. If you email me outside of my work hours and I respond, it's only because I'm being nice.
I quite agree, but this is a little bit glib.
For a lot of people, pay comes on salary rather than hourly, so it's unclear what it means to be paid for 168 hours per week. Maybe I am already paid for that much time, and my hourly rate is much lower than I thought!
On the other hand, neither I nor my employer is interested in tracking my hours, or where my attention is during those hours. I greatly prefer to think of myself as being paid for getting a job done with appropriate professionalism and skill.
I'm quite happy feeling free to read Slashdot for a while mid-morning, and to hop on to do some work in the evening when my wife is busy with her own stuff. I wouldn't want regulation to get in the way of this.
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neither I nor my employer is interested in tracking my hours, or where my attention is during those hours. I greatly prefer to think of myself as being paid for getting a job done with appropriate professionalism and skill.
Same here, and this is the way I've always worked. I am far more productive if, when needed, I can just leave the workplace and go for a walk or get a coffee or something, then come back and solve the problem.
But not all employers or managers view it that way. If they walk in to ask if we are going to hit some big deadline, and I'm laying on my office floor in the sunbeam that is coming through the window instead of hands on the keyboard, they flip out. I know this first hand. It will only get worse if re
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Microsoft's Teams app showed me an example of that just today. By default the audio connection to a meeting is handled by the app over the data connection. Tapping the mute button simply stops sending audio out to other meeting participants, but the app still has the mic and can collect audio to analyze. The days of muting so you can say "that is the dumbest idea I have ever heard" without it getting back to anyone are over.
Do you have a reference for this? I ask because the headset I use has its own mute controls. While these controls sync their status with Teams (and Zoom) - the "on mute" indicator will come on and off if I use the hardware buttons or the mute control in teams, the hardware controls also work when the headset is used with "dumb" applications that don't have mute functions. The headset also plugs directly into my desk phone with an analog connection, in this configuration the headset mute controls continue to
Re:Salaried employees (Score:5, Interesting)
The iOS "hot mic" orange dot stays lit even when Teams is muted. This indicates that Teams has the mic the whole time the meeting is running, muted or not. Zoom does the same thing. It has been a while since I can't remember whether WebEx does, but since all of them competing on surveillance features now they probably do or will soon.
The native Phone app, among others, drops the mic when muted which turns off the dot.
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If these applications don't really listen when muted, how do they know to pop up a reminder if you speak while they are muted?
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There's a technical reason for that: Both Teams and Zoom listen for changes in volume that would indicate that you are attempting to speak while the mic is muted. Try it. Next time you're muted wait for a couple of minutes (there's a timeout), and then start talking. You'll see a message pop up alerting you that you are still muted.
And as someone who lives in Teams meetings, it's an absolutely essential feature. The number of people who think they are talking when no one can hear them is incredible. It's al
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I don't view it as an essential feature at all. People on WFH status have been at this for 9 months now. Being unable to manage the technology that facilitates that work, after all this time, is a performance issue that should be addressed as such, not handed off to electronic training wheels. It still results in awkward gaps in the conversation while the person reacts to the window, clicks
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Being unable to manage the technology that facilitates that work, after all this time, is a performance issue that should be addressed as such,
It was addressed. Though technology. Relying on human training to improve performance is a failure waiting to happen. We developed technology for a reason. Sure it leads to some tin foil hatters claiming there's some major conspiracy to steal your privacy, but frankly they should get ignored.
In other news malware is solved. Yeah that's right, we successfully taught people not to click on phishing links and execute dodgy looking files... oh wait, no we didn't because relying on human training to solve proble
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What likely happens is the mute button controls the Windows mute button (you can mute any input source with the Volume Mixer applet). Pressing the mute button tells Windows to mute the microphone. It's just a media control you can find on some keyboards as well.
I'm guessing apps like Teams detect the mute setting and apply it automatically so they can show others you're muted as well.
Personally, I just have Teams phone me over a regular phone line. The mute button I have is the phone mute button (I use spea
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Do you use a webcam with a microphone? Send it to me and I'll happily add a hardware switch to electrically disconnect the microphone so you have a real 'mute' button. xD
Yeah I know most 'microphones' these day
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Incompatible with the working time limits (48 hours/week max, and people can't be penalised for only being available for less) and minimum wage which is an hourly rate.
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Incompatible with the working time limits (48 hours/week max, and people can't be penalised for only being available for less) and minimum wage which is an hourly rate.
In which country / state, out of interest?
I’m guessing the US, as those are the only readers who seem to forget that other countries have different laws...
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You've got it precisely back to front. The working time limits that AmiMoJo mentions are EU law: it's GlobalEcho in the grandparent of your post who seems to think that TFA is about the US.
FWIW, here in Spain anyone who's on salary has a contract saying how many hours per week they're employed to work and there's a legal obligation to keep timesheets.
Re: Salaried employees (Score:1)
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In which country / state, out of interest?
The EU and UK have a 48-hour limit. But it is averaged over 3 months. So you can work more than 48 hours in one week if you get some extra time off later.
Silly labor laws are one of the reasons why Europe has way fewer successful tech startups than America.
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Silly labor laws are one of the reasons why Europe has way fewer successful tech startups than America.
And far less exploited workers.
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EU, and for the time being the UK.
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For a lot of people, pay comes on salary rather than hourly..
That right there encapsulates the problem: the entitled attitude of some (many? most?) employers, that if you're getting paid that means you have no life outside of work.
For what it's worth for me to say: 'salary' as opposed to 'hourly' has always seemed like a trap to me: sure, people who get paid 'salary' usually make more annually, but since there's no overtime pay of any kind (except in some companies, but not many I know of anyway) they assume that anytime they can get their hooks into you, day or nig
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"For a lot of people, pay comes on salary rather than hourly, so it's unclear what it means to be paid for 168 hours per week. Maybe I am already paid for that much time"
Do you live in EU? I don't think so. Here is not that difficult, as it's in the contract and even if it's not, it's set by the statute of workers rights.
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so it's unclear what it means to be paid for 168 hours per week
I've never seen a contract that defines a salary but doesn't define the work hours that goes with it.
Re: If you want someone to be available 24/7 (Score:2)
That does not work, as people have no interest in being paid when they have nothing that needs money because they have no life anymore. And no matter the pay, a human needs to rest and sleep and shit and eat and love and meet friends. Unless you want to be sued for torture that resulted in death, ... if you are lucky ... and that death being yours, if you are not.
"Oncall" hours (Score:3)
There is a reasonable solution. Make an explicit "oncall" hours list for people who are available, and pay them a 3x bonus.
If the work is really urgent, it would be worth paying for. The employee would also gladly do occasional high priority work for higher compensation.
Re:"Oncall" hours (Score:5, Informative)
We have that in our company. Essentially: If someone from work calls you and you contribute anything of substance (even by saying "It's on the server xyzzy1" or something), you get paid a hour. If you actually need to start working (more than just yapping on the phone), you get paid a minimum of 2 hours (and if it takes more than 2 hours, then accordingly).
In all cases, you have the right to say "no" or not answer.
(We also have on-call rotation, compensated separately to specifically avoid having to resort to these kinds of call-outs)
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Set Ground Rules (Score:3, Informative)
I told everyone at work that I'd be silencing notification after a certain time, and that if they really needed me PLEASE CALL ME... I haven't received a single call and I feel much more relaxed.
I'm no longer over-whelmed and I'm a better employee because I can focus at work after a good night's sleep.
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That's the way to do it. My employer has my google voice number, not actual cell phone, which I silence after work hours. Laptop gets shutdown. I don't have email or slack on my phone either. The only thing that gets synced to my phone is the calendar, so I can get meeting updates or reminders if I am not in front of the computer, and a pager app, for when I am on call.
It's really important to be unavailable when you are not working, just to take the cognitive load off your system for your own mental he
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"I was feeling over-whelmed by getting text messages on my phone while I was in bed. It was usually meaningless junk that could wait until the morning.
I told everyone at work that I'd be silencing notification after a certain time, and that if they really needed me PLEASE CALL ME... I haven't received a single call and I feel much more relaxed. "
Exactly that. While, suffering my own share in the past, there are fully pyscopathic bosses/managers out there whose happiness resides in making your life miserabl
Who do these people work for? (Score:1)
Gordon Gekko? Grow a pair and don't answer the calls after work hours. Then, set reasonable expectations with your employer.
You're begging to not advance in your career (Score:5, Interesting)
Gordon Gekko? Grow a pair and don't answer the calls after work hours. Then, set reasonable expectations with your employer.
I don't know what industry you work in, but in software, there's a huge issue with being on call 24/7. Good jobs RARELY call you after hours, but when they call, you are expected to answer. I got chastised for not answering 2AM calls before. The same applies to Lawyers, accountants, and every white collar job I've ever heard of.
You can set boundaries with your boss, but that only works if everyone else does. Yeah, I tell work that I don't answer non-emergency calls from 6-9 when my kids are awake...and then someone without kids responds to the e-mails...and gets promoted. So yeah, I have set boundaries and I am at no risk of getting fired, but I also get passed over for projects, promotions, and advancement. Plus I don't really know how much people are working until it's too late, so I never know what's "enough."
We got hit hard by the pandemic...a lot more business, so we were lucky in that regard. However, I have a few H1Bs on my team who left their family in India. While I was scrambling to find childcare, they were continuing on like nothing happened as every town was beginning to lockdown. So they got a bigger bonus and are likely to get promoted much faster than I am. Those individuals in particular are extremely sexist, even by Indian standards, and ignore their kids and do no work around the house even though their wives have good jobs. So...while the rest of us are giving our kids love and attention and setting an example of sharing in the household work, we're competing against people with habits that are destructive in the long-term.
It is what it is, but you need regulation. All it takes is one guy with nothing going on in his life to make you look bad. If half the team is out-competing you, including by killing themselves working nights and weekends, you'll find yourself stagnating at best and laid off, at worst. Even having a nice boss means there are no threats, but in the end, the people doing destructive things advance faster than you...similar to a ball player taking anabolic steroids. We need labor regulations just as professional sports needs drug regulations. The regulations don't have to be governmental. The CEO could simply set a good example and set the tone of the culture. Managers need to enforce a culture of working hard during core hours and not allow things to bleed over too much....but then again, even that comes at the expense of flexibility. Some people waltz into work at 11 and stay till 7 because they're deadbeat vampires. Some come in at 7AM and leave at 3 to beat traffic.
The kicker? I do MUCH MUCH better work than those H1Bs. I have a lot less bugs and pay closer attention to requirements. My code is higher quality because I know what I am doing and do my research and background reading and attend seminars to learn best practices. But....this isn't sports...we don't have objective metrics. Therefore, if you're not paying attention, they look MUCH better than I do because they're the arsonist and the fireman. They commit bugs constantly and when QA or a customer finds it, they swoop in to fix it. Leadership is so happy the problem is solved, they rarely bother to ask why it happened in the first place. Only people paying close attention notice my code throws few to no bugs, thus I don't get the glory of being the firefighter. The crappy hire gets praise constantly for answered the call at 3AM for fixing the bug they committed.
There's no easy solution. I don't think an EU non-binding resolution will do much, but companies really need to get their culture under control. However, the problem is a lot more complex than "growing a pair." Those who "grow a pair" stagnate and those who kill themselves get promoted and have the power to marginalize or fire those who "grew a pair." It's very risky to do as you advise.
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Good jobs RARELY call you after hours, but when they call, you are expected to answer
I've never worked for anyone, small outfits, Fortune 500, or government, where that was the case. They might call you at odd hours if there really was an emergency... but no one would give you any grief for not answering.
Re: You're begging to not advance in your career (Score:2)
Uuum, that's what special desgnated on-duty people are for. At my last job that rotated once a week. There was a special phone and that was passed around. And it meant double pay for those hours! Around Christmas triple pay!
And it was *only* for actual emergencies. Like the home page being down.
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"I don't know what industry you work in, but in software, there's a huge issue with being on call 24/7."
Bullshit. I've been in the business for about 25 years and I say bullshit.
"We got hit hard by the pandemic...a lot more business, so we were lucky in that regard. However, I have a few H1Bs on my team who left their family in India."
"H1B"'s? I detect "USA jargon" here. Maybe that's the problem: we are not talking about USA but EU.
But maybe, after your "Trump Experiment", you are considering letting EU s
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Gordon Gekko? Grow a pair and don't answer the calls after work hours. Then, set reasonable expectations with your employer.
Dear Mr Resident. Our mutual reasonable expectations seem to be that you are in an unemployment line and someone more flexible is taking your role. We thank you for your time.
Wat? You pay me til 5, you get work til 5! (Score:2)
Work phone and work communication accounts are offline after 5. My private comminication accounts are none of your business.
You want more work? Pay more money!
Price for any additional hour a day is $currentHourlyRate^($numberOfAdditionalHoursADay+1) by the way.
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Price for any additional hour a day is $currentHourlyRate^($numberOfAdditionalHoursADay+1) by the way.
So someone making $50 should receive $6,250,000 for 3 hours of overtime?
Where do I sign up?
Soon they will be like *gasp* Americans (Score:1)
Not really taking vacations, talking feet and inches and how the Orange guy is biden his time, etc.
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In Europe less movies/series are getting made, because Hollywood leeches a lot of money designated for making local content to their movies/series.
And even then, many European series are getting remade in Hollywood. It's not that Europe cannot make good movies/series, there is less money available and Hollywood gets its grubby hands on as much as they can.
Drug research sure as f.ck takes place in Europe. You have many tax havens in Europe, and more than enough sharp minds as well.
The Witcher is made by a Po
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https://www.weforum.org/agenda... [weforum.org]
You are telling the truth when you say they have less money over there. There's less money because (as the original post says), companies are disconnecting from the EU. That's an unforced error on their part.
Working from home is no longer the future (Score:2)
Having the option to work from home is great. Being told to work from home, not so much.
I remember the first few months of COVID19 when people here in the Netherlands we were working from home. Employees thought it was great. Employers saw productivity rise. This is the future! We'll never go back to traffic-jams and meeting rooms!
Well, now it's the past. People are seeking out their co-workers at the office, even when their duties could be done at home. Rush hour is back. To the point where the government
Non binding resolution (Score:2)
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Now the Brits are out there is a little more chance the EU parliament gets the power normally associated with a democratically elected parliament.
But this is something the EU Commission can and likely will pick up.
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Now the Brits are out there is a little more chance the EU parliament gets the power
That requires all EU member state approval. It will not happen.
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