Is taking a break after a long workday still a dream?
Let’s give it a thought, imagine you are an employee of a company and due to
the pandemic you’ve been working from home for a very long time, you’ve logged
in at 9 AM it’s been a long and tiring day, you also have plans for the evening
the clock is ticking and at last its 5 PM but due to some extra work you logged
out at 6 PM, you are very tired but excited for the evening as it is a Friday.
You are towards your balcony with a cup of tea taking a look at the beautiful
sunset you are all set for your evening plans but suddenly your phone rings you
pick the phone and there it’s your boss, who is instructing you to check your
mail and work on the presentation as the client needs it in urgent, how will
you feel? Now, this is the case with most of us who are working 9 to 5 to put
food on our table.
Some of
the issues are been addressed below.
From an evolution which has changed to “We Are Your
Family”
Let us go back to the time when computers were first
introduced into the corporate world, in the year 1951 LEO (Lyons Electronic
Office) became the first computer to run a routine office job. The J. Lyons
Company was the British catering firm which invested heavily in some computers.
The concept of introducing computers into the corporate culture was to make the
work of a man easy and fast, this concept bought in a lot of positive impact,
which bought in a lot of profits to firm’s and companies not only through
monetary means but also in many other ways. Slowly as time passed by man became
quite familiar with the working and usage of system, a lot has been changed
since 1951 computers have become lot advance and the world including India has
grown when it comes to technology. India is ranked 46th in the “Global Innovation
Index 2021”.[1] Today
the world has become too fast that companies are now looking forward to their
employees being as fast as the technology now, which has started causing
negative effects on the mental health of an employee working late hours after
work, working overtime (OT), meeting deadlines, fear of underperforming,
meeting expectations of our seniors, promotions, maintaining a work-life
balance and many others factors that affect the mental health of an employee,
and in the recent days the Coronavirus pandemic has made it even worse as
people have started working from home.
Pandemic to endemic
The pandemic which hit the world in the year 2020 which
continues has forced people to work from home, now this might sound easy –
waking up at your own time, no need to get dressed, no need to rush to the
office, no traffic, etc. just wake up open your laptop and log-in but it is not
as simple as it looks, a study published by The Lancet medical journal on October
8, reports stated that an additional 76.2 million cases of anxiety disorders
and 53.2 million more cases of major depressive disorders in 2020 because of
the pandemic. This represents respective increases of 25.6% and 27.6% in the
disorders. In India, the study estimated an increase of about 35% in mental
disorders. [2]
According to the United Nations, this
pandemic shed light on the urgency of organizations increasing investments made
in time and providing mental health services. “The impact of the pandemic on
people’s mental health is already extremely concerning. Social isolation, fear
of contagion, and loss of family members is compounded by the distress caused
by loss of income and often employment.” – Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus,
Director-General of the World Health Organisation. A global study conducted by oracle in over 11 countries shows that 78% of the
workforce feel that the pandemic has negatively impacted their mental health.[3]
The Bill
The Portuguese parliament recently passed a labor law
that was approved it provides workers a healthy work-life balance and also
imposes a penalty on employers who contact employees outside working hours. The
laws were approved mainly due to work from home and mainly focussing on the
mental health of employees, according to this law the employers will be liable
to pay the increased gas amount and electricity bills incurred. Additionally,
rules like banning employers from monitoring their workers working at home and
meeting up with their bosses once in two months, just to stop isolation, will
be imposed. Portugal's Minister of Labour and Social Security, Ana Mendes
Godinho quoted that, "The pandemic has accelerated the need to regulate
what needs to be regulated."[4]
An amusing bill was introduced in the Indian parliament,
it was known as “The Right to Disconnect Bill” it was introduced in the year
2019 by Former MP Supriya Sule (NCP). The bill briefly states that the
employees do not need to answer phone calls, texts, and emails of their
employers post working hours. It also focuses on reducing stress, anxiety and
easing tension.
The provisions of the bill were as follows, it will
comply with companies who have more than 10 employees, will have to create an
Employee Welfare Committee which will ensure compliance within the company. The
Committee will comprise the employees of the company. The bill states that no
disciplinary action will be taken against the employee if he or she chooses not
to respond to the employer after working hours. As per the provisions of the
bill, if the employee has agreed to work outside working hours, then he/she is
entitled to do so. It would include IT, Communications, and Labour Ministers.
[1] https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/india-climbs-two-spots-to-rank-46th-in-the-global-innovation-index-2021-121092001312_1.html#:~:text=The%20Centre%20in%20an%20official,public%20and%20private%20research%20organisations.
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