NYC may ban work mails after office hours

New Yorkers could be freed from the grip of their work email outside office hours under a new bill set to be introduced in the city.

The proposed Right to Disconnect Bill would ban private companies that have more than 10 employees from requiring their workers to respond to electronic messages, which include texts and emails, outside work hours.

Company bosses would still be able to contact their employees outside working hours, but they would not be allowed to fire or discipline them for failing to respond to their messages.

Businesses in New York’s five boroughs would be fined at least $250 (Rs 16,224) for failing to abide by the rule. There will be exceptions for emergencies. 

“The lines between our work and personal lives have blurred. My bill will simply protect employees from retaliation when they choose to disconnect,” councilman Rafael Espinal, who is bringing the bill, tweeted.

The proposals mirror measures brought in in France, Germany, Italy and the Philippines.

Research has shown people who responded to work in the evenings have worse quality sleep and are less productive the next day. One 2017 study found the average workers spent an extra eight hours a week sending emails outside work.

Researchers monitored 365 working adults and said they found “both the actual time spent on emails and organisational expectations regarding availability to monitor work emails after hours lead to emotional exhaustion”.