Centre of attention

Communication conundrum
Does Canada need legislation limiting work-related digital communication after quitting time?

FRANCE is considering legislation that could put limits on digital communication between employers and employees during off-hours.

The legislation is intended to prevent employers from encroaching on their workers’ free time in a world where cell phones and laptops mean no employee is ever unavailable. There has been some debate as to whether similar legislation is needed in Canada.

Sheryl Boswell, Monster Canada’s director of marketing, knows all about receiving digital communication after regular office hours. The online employment website has offices all over the world. That means work emails can come at Boswell at all hours of the day. But that doesn’t mean she answers them immediately. “Some companies expect you to be on call 24 hours a day,” Boswell says. “I don’t think that’s fair.”

Boswell says she doesn’t think employers can expect their employees to answer work-related emails during off hours even if the employee has agreed to carry a cell phone paid for by their employers. However, Boswell isn’t keen on seeing Canada adopting the kind of legislation being considered in France. Instead, she thinks employers and employees should work together to define what the rules of engagement (or disengagement) are when it comes to responding to off-hours emails or phone calls from the boss.

Boswell says bosses can ensure digital communication doesn’t encroach on an employees’ free time by scheduling emails to be delivered in the morning even if they were written the night before. Or a boss can send the email to an employee during off-hours but state that they don’t need an answer until a certain time the next day.

Employees can also do things to keep work from creeping into free time. Boswell says employees that respond to an employer’s digital communication during off-hours set expectations that can be difficult to erase. “By doing that you are training people to know you will respond,” Boswell says. “Be careful about setting that kind of expectation with managers and bosses.”