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Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance

Briefings

Protecting mental health in the digital workspace: The right to disconnect

27 July 2022

As newspaper headlines highlight that 'Working from home fuels cyberbullying' in its latest resolution on protecting mental health in the digital workspace the European Parliament has once again called for a Directive on the Right to Disconnect.

The Pandemic has led to a significant shift to remote working arrangements, and this has provided more flexibility and autonomy and, in some cases, a better work-life balance and indeed greater access to work opportunities. However, the Parliament recognises that teleworking also has negative consequences for workers; being overly connected, a blurring of the lines between work and private life and a greater intensity of work and technology-related stress to name but a few consequences. Accordingly, it is calling for the EU Mental Health Strategy to address the mental health issues that have arisen as a result of the shift to teleworking including a directive on minimum standards and conditions to ensure all workers the effective right to disconnect, and to regulate the use of existing and new digital tools for work purposes.

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