Rebecca Long-Bailey is correct about workers’ rights to disconnect – but we need a bigger conversation

Any discussion about technology in the workplace needs to have wellbeing at its heart, writes Andrew Pakes

The Labour leadership contender wants to curtail out-of-hours emails (Reuters)

The always-on work culture has become the target for one of Labour’s leadership candidates, with Rebecca Long-Bailey backing union calls for a British right to disconnect. As technology continues to blur the line between work and family life, this is absolutely the right debate all politicians should be having.

Every day millions of workers are affected by being unable to switch off. According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), 15 per cent of us constantly monitor work emails outside work hours; another 25 per cent check them at least five times a day. The impact of this culture is felt unequally: if you’re a parent or carer, for example, you might find it a lot harder to respond to emails out of hours.

This isn’t a problem that will go away. The future of work means that technology is going to further encroach into our private lives. If we can’t fix that now and account for the tech we use at the moment, how will we cope with what is coming down the track? Today it is about emails or WhatsApp messages, but tomorrow it will be name badges with sensors, employer apps on your phone that track your movements or other wearable devices that give away your data.