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The idea of a "right to disconnect" from work is gaining traction worldwide, with countries like France and Spain enacting laws to protect workers from the demands of the digital age. The UK government has also indicated it will do the same.

In Australia, recent legislation aims to give employees in large- or medium-sized businesses the right to switch off from attempts to contact them outside work hours. And the same law will be applied to small businesses (fewer than 15 employees) in August 2025. But is it enough?

We conducted a research study into how employees perceive and respond to the demands of constant connectivity. We focused on academics from Australia, using in-depth interviews about their experiences.

Our findings reveal that our ability to disconnect from work is complicated, and depends on our psychology. The way workers perceive constant connectivity significantly influences their ability to disengage.

Among our participants, we found three distinct models of thinking about constant connectivity. These models affected how workers felt about making themselves available to work, and as such had a bearing on how good they were at unplugging. This suggests that being able to disconnect goes beyond just work demands. Our psychology plays a big part too.

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