Disconnecting From Work

On November 30, 2021, the Ontario government passed Bill 27, Working for Workers Act, which received Royal Assent on December 2, 2021. This Bill includes the requirement for workplaces that employ 25 or more employees to have a written policy on disconnecting from work. This policy requirement was added to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA).

Bill 27 defines "disconnecting from work" as not engaging in work-related communications (including emails, telephone calls, video calls, or sending or reviewing other messages) so as to be free from the performance of work.

The official guidance from the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development is that Bill 27 (the Working for Workers Act, 2021) did not create a new, absolute right to disconnect from work. The ESA already includes employee rights with respect to hours of work, overtime, vacation, rest and lunch periods, etc.

This Policy applies to all employees of the University of Windsor. The policy defines employees as any individual employed by the University including, but not limited to, faculty, staff, and student employees. Leaders/supervisors are also employees.

While the policy encourages respectful boundaries to support work-life balance, the University recognizes that certain situations require flexibility. Exceptions to the policy include:

• Emergency and Urgent Situations that pose a risk to the safety of individuals, the integrity of university systems, or the continuity of critical operations.
• Employees who are part of a pre-approved on-call/standby schedule in accordance with the terms of the Employee’s applicable Collective Agreement/employment contract, and/or applicable University policy.
• By mutual agreement, a manager and employee may arrange to work outside of regular hours to meet a time-sensitive deadline or project, in accordance with the terms of the Employee’s applicable Collective Agreement/employment contract, and/or applicable University policy.

This policy does not prohibit the University or its employees from communicating outside of regular work hours. However, an employee is only expected to respond to after-hours contact for the matters that fall under the policy exceptions. In all other circumstances, an employee is not required to respond until their next working day.

You are not obligated to respond to work-related communication outside of your working hours unless the matter falls under the defined policy exceptions. You should simply respond during your next scheduled workday.

If the frequency of after-hours communication begins to regularly impact your ability to disconnect, you are encouraged to discuss the issue directly with the individual (colleague/supervisor). If the behaviour continues, you should report the concern to your immediate supervisor or contact Human Resources (for staff) or Academic Labour Relations (for faculty).

Students may reach out to you with questions during times that are convenient for them, however faculty and staff are not expected to respond to student emails outside of their normal working hours unless it falls under one of the policy exceptions.

To effectively manage expectations, it is a recommended practice to clearly outline your expected response times (e.g., in your course syllabus, email signature, or during the first class) so students know when to anticipate a reply.

While the policy does not prohibit sending communications outside of working hours, its primary intent is to set respectful boundaries to support work-life balance.
Before sending an email after hours, always consider whether the message can wait until the recipient’s regular working hours.

If your work hours differ from your colleague's, it is important not to expect a response to messages sent outside of a colleague's defined work hours.

If sending a message outside of work hours, you should use the "Delayed Delivery" feature in Outlook to schedule the message to arrive during the recipient's working hours. 

While supervisors are permitted to contact employees outside of working hours, the intent of this policy is to reinforce respectful boundaries to support work-life balance.
Before you send an after-hours email, consider whether the message can wait until your team’s regular work hours.
As a supervisor, it is important to be mindful that employees may interpret messages from you after hours as a requirement to respond immediately. It is important that you clearly articulate your expectations.

 

The Disconnecting from Work policy applies to every employee including supervisors. You are encouraged to set expectations with those who report to you about when you will be available to them. For instance, letting your team know that outside of an emergency, you may not be available before 8 a.m. or after 5 p.m.

The policy does not prohibit employees from voluntarily choosing to work outside their work hours. However, the University strongly encourages employees to spend time away from performing or thinking about work to support their personal well-being and achieve a sustainable, healthy work-life balance.

If your current workload is preventing you from disconnecting from work and achieving a healthy work-life balance, you should first discuss the matter with your immediate supervisor. If after speaking with your supervisor the matter is not resolved, you should then direct your concern to Human Resources (staff) or Academic Labour Relations (faculty). 

You can support policy adoption by:

• Informing employees of their expected Working Hours and clearly communicating any policy exceptions.  
• Modelling appropriate communication practices that respect personal time by ensuring that work communications routinely occur during work hours as defined in the employee’s contract and/or Collective Agreement. 
• Working with employees to plan their time off, identify back-up contacts and ensure adequate coverage in their absence. 
• Enabling employees to leverage technology controls and applications to ensure employees do not receive emails, notifications, or meeting requests during their time away.
• Responding to questions or concerns from your team regarding their ability to disconnecting from Work.

You can support this policy by:

• Being considerate of colleagues’ work hours and personal time by making a conscious effort to avoid routine after work hours communications and not expecting responses to messages sent outside of another person’s work hours.  
• Actively utilizing available communication tools to signal availability and manage expectations. This includes, but is not limited to:
• Setting an out of office message when away from the office indicating absence period and an alternative contact for urgent matters.
• Adding to the e-mail signature a line indicating working hours and expected response time.
• Using status features in collaboration tools to indicate when away, in a meeting or offline.
• Utilizing the delayed delivery feature when sending non-urgent e-mails after the University’s core business hours (8:30 am – 4:30 pm).

Achieving a healthy work-life balance is a shared responsibility. Below are practical strategies we can all adopt to support a culture of disconnecting from work:

Establish a Clear End-of-Day Routine.

• Dedicate the last 15 minutes of your workday to a structured wrap-up. This helps signal the end of the workday and ensures you start the next day organized. For instance,
• Create a short to-do or priority list for the next morning to mentally offload outstanding tasks.
• Clean up/organize both your physical and digital workspace (close tabs, file documents).
• Find a personal ritual that consistently signals the workday is officially over.

Leverage Technology Tools

• Silence all work-related email, chat, and application notifications on all personal devices (phones, tablets, etc.) after work hours. Where possible, remove work apps from your personal phone entirely.
• If you are working outside of work hours, use the Delayed delivery feature to schedule your emails to be delivered during the recipient's working hours (e.g., 8:00 AM the next morning).
• Add a line to your email signature to clearly state your working hours and expected response times.
• Change your work voicemail to state your working hours and when you will return calls.

Communicate and Set Boundaries

• Proactively communicate with your colleagues your regular working hours and address expectations regarding response times after work hours communications.  
• Be considerate of your colleagues' work hours and avoid contacting them outside of their working hours.
• Engage in a discussion with your supervisor if you have concerns about your ability to  disconnecting, from work, barriers preventing you from disconnecting and/or you feel that you always have to be “on”.

Practice Intentional Disconnection

• Take your full lunch and rest breaks. Schedule these breaks in your calendar as non-negotiable time, and step away from your desk completely.
• Schedule and take your vacation time to rest and recover. Work with your supervisor to complete a thorough handover to minimize the chance of being contacted while away or feeling overwhelmed upon your return.

Suggested language for disconnecting from work and communicating clear availability

Email footers

• As part of my commitment to work-life balance, I do not check email outside of my standard working hours (8:30 am – 4:30 pm). Please expect a reply from me during my working hours.  
• This email was sent at a time that works for me. Please do not feel obligated to reply or take action outside of your working hours.
• My standard working hours are [Start Time] to [End Time] EST, Monday through Friday. Emails received outside of these hours will be answered when I am back online.

Out of Office Messages

When on vacation

Thank you for your email.

I am currently out of the office on vacation (or on leave), enjoying some time to recharge and will not have access to email or phone until  my return on (Date). During this time, I will not be checking emails. I will address your message as soon as possible after I return, and I appreciate your patience with any resulting delay. 

For urgent matters that cannot wait, please contact: [Colleague's Name] at [Colleague's Email].

For all other inquiries, I look forward to connecting with you when I return.

Thank you for your understanding.

[Your Name]

 

Away from the office for 1 or 2 days

Thank you for your e-mail. I am taking some time away from the office to focus on personal well-being and will not be checking my inbox until I return on (date).

I will be in touch with you shortly after I am back online. 

For time-sensitive issues please reach out to [Colleague's Name] at [Colleague's Email].

Have a great day.

[Your Name]