An increasingly common email signature used by bosses has left workers furious at feeling pressured to work after hours.
Author and communications and human skills specialist Leah Mether said since new right to disconnect legislation was introduced in Australia, bosses have started using the signature to cover themselves.
The message that says “I choose to work flexibly, but don’t feel like you need to respond until your working hours” means bosses can communicate with their workers after hours.
“Leaders will tell me, ‘Well, I’m doing my part, Leah,’ but you have to be aware of that power dynamic,” Ms. Mether said.
“That person is trying to make a good impression: they’re new, they’re young.”
‘They want to impress you. They may still be responding.
In Australia, employees have successfully disconnected since late August this year.
According to the Fair Work CommissionWorkers may “refuse to monitor, read, or respond to contact or attempted contact from their employer, or from another person if the contact or attempted contact is work-related.”
Ms Mether (pictured) said workers can be “smart and strategic” when they want to talk about their boundaries.
Ms Mether said many bosses are now putting this signature on their emails (pictured).
For staff, receiving the signature message is also like a guessing game, wondering if bosses really mean it because they send emails after hours, Mether said.
“As a leader, you have to be very conscious of modeling the behavior you ask of your team,” he said.
“I’m saying all the right things, yet I’m the leader and I never leave on time – or early – if they don’t see that you prioritize your life outside of work, actions speak louder than words.”
Mether said workers will believe a leader’s behavior rather than what they say, and companies need to be aware of the additional pressure this can put on staff.
“People have a harder time maintaining their own boundaries because they feel like they’re not in tune with the cultural norms of that team,” she said.
The communications and human skills specialist said that even if leaders assure staff that they “don’t have to respond at night,” they should actually stop sending emails in the first place.
“If you choose to work at night because it’s convenient for you, you should schedule emails to appear during people’s work hours,” he said.
‘There is no excuse not to do this nowadays: it is very easy to do. Learn how.’
Mether also warned employers and workers that new legislation allowing the right to disconnect will not work unless they come forward and discuss what it means for them.
“We need to discuss how and when we communicate with each other,” he said.
‘What is right and what is not right. Every industry and role is different because there are some roles where we have to be available outside of standard hours.’
Mether said that for those roles, it could be a matter of asking to be texted after hours instead of email so the worker doesn’t have to constantly check their phone.
For workers who fear not being heard, Ms. Mether said they needed to raise it in a “smart and strategic” way rather than presenting it as “this is my boundary and you need to respect it.”
Mether also said employees need to have conversations with their boss about how and when they can be contacted and, if it’s part of their role, they can suggest what mode of communication is best for them.
“Present it in a way where you’re essentially looking for everyone to win with your leader,” he said.
‘Say, “I want to make sure I’m doing my best work for you and to do my best I need to unplug and recharge so I can give 100 percent at work.”
‘You are also presenting your boundaries in a way that shows the leader that this is best for them too. This is what intelligent communicators do.’
Mether said relearning is happening for bosses and workers 40 and older because in the past, longer hours meant a person worked hard.
“A lot of older workers came out of the hustle culture,” he said.
‘The way we were trained is not the way we achieved optimal performance.
“All the research shows us that, after a certain point, workers become really unproductive.”