On Tuesday, February 1, 2022, the Belgian government granted its over 65,000 civil workers the right to ignore all work related correspondences after work hours.
Federal workers in the country can, by the new law, refuse to oblige any official request by their managers once the clock ticks past the formal work hours. The only exception to this order, however, involves situations that can be accepted as “exceptional and unforeseen circumstances” for which an emergency response could be rendered by the worker.
This law comes in handy in an era where many business owners are on a fast track, in the bid to recover losses and to regain balance, post-pandemic. In this bid, many workers are kept on overdrive and the rate of stress, burnout and work-induced fatigue increases. Consequently, productivity may only see a short tenured positive outlook, but in the longer term, companies will make losses as a result of declining productivity owing to an over-laboured workforce.
To protect the citizens that are covered under this new law, the Belgian government has also maintained that employers must not victimise their workers who adhere to the law. When workers refuse to answer phone calls or reply to work-related emails or other messages outside agreed work hours, they must not be punished. With this adjoining precept, Belgian workers are assured of an effective law that truly protects the interest of their organised labour hours while respecting their off-work periods that could be utilised for other social activities at free will.
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There are reports that the Belgian government is also considering an extension of the “disconnect from work” law to workers in the private sector in order to avail them the opportunity of a better work-life balance as does the federal civil workers.
This new work culture can be seen as a veritable strategy that can better reposition businesses in terms of labour productivity and results, and prepare them for the future of work, which has been ushered in by the recent pandemic experiences. It is possible to predict a more focused, better recuperated and more energised workforce under a law that respects efficient work hour use, as well as promotes a fair work-life balance among members of the workforce in general.
The experience of Nigerian workers with their employers, especially in the private sector, has been a subject of debate and concern for a long time. Balancing work-related needs and maintaining a personal curriculum has been one of the most difficult life activities of the average Nigerian worker. With an averaged 40-hour per week job, running from 9am till 5pm, Nigerians struggle with other post-work hour indulgences as employers demand spillover to late nights, leaving the average worker with less time per day to deal with personal needs.
No doubt, work related activities that spill over to after-work hours have been researched to cost many individuals their personal and spousal relationships, religious connections, among others. Nigerians, in the bid to secure their jobs and advance in their professional career paths, have learned to compromise other aspects of livelihood that they think could have interfered with their jobs. Without knowing it, many employed individuals begin to lose it, thinking that their loyalty to their jobs matter more than every aspect of their lives.
Unknowingly, however, poor work-life balance inhibits productive performance, albeit, gradually. When a worker is stressed and often fatigued, there will be a very limited capacity space to arouse and deploy horned skills to the benefit of the company or firm in which the worker works. Constant stress also prevents innovative thinking and leaves a worker less available to contribute meaningfully to a dedicated work process.
Disconnecting totally from work especially after the official work hours can serve as a major breakthrough in the lives of millions of Nigerians whose work-life balance has been distorted. If this practice can be made possible in Nigeria, then, workers will be able to focus on their assignments with better accuracy and efficiency, and other aspects of living can be better enjoyed.
It is hoped that the law, if put to practice in Nigeria, will help save more lives as longevity of lives will be preserved. Furthermore, people will enjoy a better social standing as relationships in the home, religious centres, communities and other areas of communal interactions will be preserved.
Business success can also be assured in a society where the workforce is given the liberty to explore personal freedom without the need to choke them with work-related burden. When workers enjoy certain levels of freedom, especially after work hours, then, they are indirectly provided with the opportunity to re-energise and re-strategise for the next assignment.
