Experts agree that when the Saskatchewan government makes changes to its Employment Act as part of a review, it should set clear boundaries about how available employees should be when not at the office.
The Saskatchewan government is considering making provisions in the Employment Act in the first substantive review in more than a decade including considering work hours and layoffs.
It's also looking at changes to disconnect workers from their office life when they're at home.
"For many, many people, the demands of their work has significant interference in terms of their home and personal life," said Kiffer Card, a health sciences professor at Simon Fraser University.
The Right to Disconnect — as it is referenced in a discussion paper that highlights sections of the Employment Act for feedback and as its called in Ontario — has no position in the act yet.
With employment now portable in the form of cellphones and laptops, the government is asking if the regulations around work hours and how available employees are to their employer need to be shifted and have
included the Right to Disconnect as an aspect for feedback.
"The more control an employer has over the time when an employee must be available for work, the more likely it is compensable time," the paper says.
The government has opened the floor to feedback about its discussion paper, the proposed changes to the act or any aspect of the employment standards on Monday, and will accept it until Oct. 31.
Its goal is to create "a fair and balanced employment environment" and to "modernize the legislation" amid an evolving work environment, according to provincial Labour Minister Don Morgan.
Card says many employees are often found tethered to their devices and it's important to find an appropriate balance between personal connection and work-related tasks.
The pressure to be continuously available outside of standard working hours is problematic, he said, though a balanced hybrid work environment can be beneficial.
"If there's constantly this expectation that you will be on call or able to come in for a shift, then that's going to impact how much you can devote and invest your time and attention to people in your life," Card said.
He said evidence shows that healthy boundaries and strong social lives makes for happier employees, and legislation can help set those boundaries.
The Right to Disconnect legislation has not addressed the nuances of a hybrid work environment, focusing on emails and phone conversations, but that could be considered in legislation, he suggested.
