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Digital life is changing, at least where employer-employee relationship is concerned. Those working in startups will vouch that they know no working hour; all they have time perhaps is to catch 40 winks before it’s back to work. But now, more & more countries are enacting laws that forbids companies to contact their employees after office hours, in order to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
Employee communication platform Speakap has decided to take the initiative on this front. It has developed an extension for its software which allows employees to add a ‘Do Not Disturb’ tag to their business email settings when it’s after hours. Speakap designs software for businesses who wish to communicate with their employees more effectively, so if this Enterprise with a multi-nation presence believes that connections with employees must remain within work hours, there has to be a very good reason for it.
Well, actually, there are several very good reasons, the most salient being that new laws, especially in Europe, are currently being enacted, which will make “non-communication” a legal requirement. In fact, France already has a law aimed at solving this problem, known as the “Right to Disconnect” (from the workplace), which requires all companies with more than 50 employees to offer their staff communication-free family time when at home. Also, in the United States, & elsewhere, discussions are underway, which might make after hours communication illegal in many other countries.
A study done by Leigh University, & reported on Science Daily found a direct correlation between employee ‘emotional exhaustion’ & the demanding email communication-expectations employers have, even outside of normal working hours. The study discovered that those employees allowed to enjoy worry free leisure time, engaged with their families more effectively, & were much more productive than their counterparts who were expected to make themselves available to digital mail at all hours. The ‘stress factor’, measured during the study offered alarming statistics on the emotional well being of subjects who felt they needed to check their mail on a constant basis.
It’s somewhat of a Catch 22 situation, though. Digital mail, which is an always-on thing, has made customer relations much more effective, but at the same time the limitless time constraints which make employees feel that they’re on call 24/7 has led to a very undesirable situation where employees stress levels are much higher than they were before email was invented.
Speakap’s clients, for example, can integrate the new tool, which effectively label employees’ emails with a ‘Do Not Contact’ red marker, alerting HR(Human Resources), CRM(Customer Relations Management), & some other departments.
Speakap, founded in 2011 by Erwin van der Vlist & Patrick van der Mijl, currently serves over 350 Enterprises, mostly in fields where an above average client/employer demand on the employee’s time exists, such as the hospitality, retail & manufacturing industries. The new “Do Not Disturb” tools, which ensure company compliance are likely to become invaluable to Speakap’s clients that have some large brands on the list.
