Disruption of the division into working time and leisure time may have a negative impact on both health and productivity in the long run, states the Polish Economic Institute. According to experts, people working remotely are exposed to more stress and experience health problems more often. PIE analysts pointed out that more and more people declare that they perform their professional duties during their free time; and the period of pandemic, remote working and increased use of digital tools have reinforced this trend. „The problem is also gaining a regulatory dimension,” they said. As they recalled, in December 2020 the European Parliament adopted a report calling on the European Commission to present a legislative proposal introducing the employee’s right to + exclude + from official duties. „The proposals relate strictly to employees working remotely, using IT tools” – they explained in the last issue of „Tygodnik Gospodarczy PIE”. The proposed mechanism is to monitor working time, but also allow for not responding to business communication „after hours”. Experts pointed out that home workers are much more likely to perform their official duties in private time than stationary workers. „This phenomenon was already observed before the pandemic, but during COVID-19, a much greater percentage of people moved from office to home, and therefore many more people worked in private time” – they emphasized. The highest percentage of people working „overtime” was recorded at the beginning of the pandemic. „In Portugal, Croatia, Luxembourg, Poland and four other countries, at least one fifth of employees declared to work in their free time” – indicated the experts. In the spring of 2021, fewer people admitted to work after hours: in the case of Poland, it was 16.5%, i.e. 5.2 points. percent less than a year earlier – said PIE, citing Eurofound research. Extending working time and disrupting the division between work and free time, if they are present for a longer period of time, can have negative effects on both health and labor productivity, PIE pointed out. Experts added that employees who perform work duties from home, using ICT tools, are also exposed to greater stress and more often experience various types of health problems. „Employees in France, Belgium, Italy and Spain already have a legally guaranteed opportunity to disconnect from professional matters taking place on e-mails and messaging” – indicated PIE. According to experts, if the initiative of the European Parliament is not „hidden in a drawer”, perhaps this year’s holiday will be the last one during which our peace of mind is disturbed by notifications from the service mail.

Source: https://kadry.infor.pl/wiadomosci/5284171,Worklife-balance-a-produktywnosc.html

Projekt otrzymał dofinansowanie z Norwegii poprzez Fundusze Norweskie 2014-2021, w ramach programu „Dialog społeczny – godna praca”.