A lesson Indian superiors could take: Portugal bans bosses contacting employees after-hours

As part of new laws labelled "right to rest," Portugal has prohibited bosses from texting or emailing employees outside of working hours. The change is part of an effort to improvework-life balance in response to an increase in work-from-home opportunities in the country.

Companies with more than ten employees may face fines if they contact their employees outside of their contracted hours. There are also new guidelines for allowing employees with childrento work remotely.

Meanwhile, this commendable move of the Portugal government has raised questions on the condition of employees in India, with staffers wondering- If Indian superiors will ever follow this?

According to research published by the professional networking site LinkedIn, one in every three professionals in India is burnt out as a result of increased workload and stress while workingremotely in India.

Since March 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in the relocation of entire offices to the online space, as well as the emergence of the concept of full-time work from home. Even almosttwo years after the pandemic hit the country, companies are still working remotely.

LinkedIn on September 14 released a study research report titled 'Future of Work 2021,' which shows the views of approximately 1,108 professionals aged up to 68 on working from home,based on their responses during the pandemic.

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What does the study suggest?

• According to a LinkedIn study report, employees are prioritising their well-being and finding ways to strike the right work and personal life balance. Around 52 percent of respondentsbelieve that work-life balance is now as important as salary compensation.

• According to the report, approximately 75% of respondents believe that working from home has had a negative impact on their growth due to a lack of personal and peer learning, as wellas increased workload by superiors.

• According to another survey report, published by the Times of India: Over 57 percent of employees feel overworked and about 32 percent feel exhausted due to increased “unofficial”work time.

• The research suggests that the majority of Indian employees claim their superiors have become too demanding and have increased the workload since March 2020.

• “Almost all the online meetings are scheduled at “unofficial time” in the majority of Indian companies since the trend of work from home began. The time of meetings hasalso increased from about 10 to 15 minutes.

What now?

According to experts, the need for “right to rest” is now evident in India and government needs to take significant steps. “Gen Z are most likely to struggle with work-lifebalance and feel more exhausted due to increased work load,” which will subsequently have a negative effect on the industry.

Employees reportedly face more difficulty in feeling engaged or excited about work, getting a word in during meetings, and bringing new ideas to the table.

Even though the Government of India takes no step for this cause, there’s a need for superiors to understand that proper work-life balance will only help their company grow by maintaininga fair work environment.