CNA: A 'right to disconnect' from work

I was just watching the CNA podcast on a law protecting employees' right to disconnect and was infuriated 🔥by the majority's biased stance towards not mandating that law to maintain Singapore's competitiveness. Year after year, the government speaks of the need to improve worker productivity, which means doing more in less time. How does working overtime improve productivity rates? Oh, the irony.

Hence, I believe a right to disconnect law is essential for Singapore's workforce. It would offer several key benefits:

1. Protection from Exploitation: This law would be a safeguard against employers who pressure staff to be constantly available. With clear boundaries, workers are less vulnerable to feeling obligated to respond to emails or calls outside of work hours.
2. Stronger Families and Communities: By ensuring time for personal lives, the law would allow employees to prioritise family. This could lead to more quality family time, potentially contributing to a rise in birth rates, a long-standing concern in Singapore.
   
   
3. Attracting and Retaining Talent: The absence of such a law might push skilled workers towards freelance gigs or even overseas opportunities with better work-life balance. This could be particularly detrimental to public and civil service sectors, where overtime culture is prevalent. Offering a healthy work-life balance would make these sectors more attractive to the younger and more self-aware generation, promoting retention and attracting top talent. Job hopping seems to be more common these days and employees are not afraid to take risks to make a career switch if their current job does not support their life goals.
   
   
4. Improve Productivity Rates: If employees in Singapore can do more in less time, that would boost productivity rates and employee competitiveness. Enacting the law to restrict work hours would push employees to think creatively to work more efficiently and employers to review the practicalities of employee workload and manpower deployment.

Overall, the right to disconnect fosters a healthier and more sustainable work environment. It protects employees, strengthens families, and forces Singapore to be strategically efficient rather than promote presenteeism, which reduces productivity rates.