Publish at January 20 2021 Updated July 22 2025
Digital has made it easier to get work done in many areas. Thus, little by little, professionals have begun to work partially or entirely from home. Telecommuting began to make its way to the delight of some workers with more autonomy in their tasks. Then, the covid-19 pandemic forced a larger mass of workers to work from home to limit the contagion.
Except that this reality of telecommuting, coupled with handheld digital devices that allow anytime access to email and messaging of all kinds, leads to a problem: the more-than-ever blurred boundary between the professional and private spheres. Employers no longer have any qualms about requesting services even outside of agreed-upon work hours. As for freelancers, they have to respond to their clients' requests and feel obliged to be present almost 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
In 2016, the controversial Labor law was passed and with it articles concerning the right to disconnect. Thus, workers have the privilege after a certain number of hours to refuse additional tasks. Companies that force their employees to be constantly available must then compensate them, according to the jurisprudence of the Cour de cassation. Little by little, all sectors have realized the importance of this legal obligation... although it is not really coercive and difficult to enforce. Nevertheless, both associative and private circles have begun to realize the priority of this right.
The pandemic, however, has complicated matters. Indeed, while it was easier to understand that an individual coming home from the office had the prerogative to not take work calls and spend time with family, it becomes more complex with telecommuting. As a result, many people felt compelled to complete all the tasks offered and answer all the emails so as not to "create problems." Yet the message was reiterated several times online in articles. Companies denying this right could run into trouble in the eyes of the law. Especially since an employee does not have the right to be sanctioned for exercising his or her right to disconnect. It would then be possible to sue the company for what amounts to harassment.
This regulation is actually of great interest in Quebec and elsewhere. In the winter of 2020, the left-wing party Québec solidaire proposed a bill on this right to disconnect. A suggestion that was refused by the Coalition Avenir Québec government, which claimed that the Quebec Labor Code sufficiently addressed such issues. Nevertheless, it has sparked an initial discussion in the province on the topic between those who believe it should be written into law and others who prefer it to be a voluntarily acquired attitude by entrepreneurs. Working to teach this healthier strategy in relation to an employee's work and limitations.
Faculty has had to greatly alter their approaches with the pandemic. They had to adapt to multiple health rules and extreme and unprepared modifications for distance learning. Some had to fight with the right to opt out in late spring 2020, finding the deconfinement too fast, especially for older teachers.. And while most played the remote game willingly, making sure to keep a connection with their students, many found themselves not using their right to disconnect. And yet, as several union associations remind us, they are entitled to it.
Thus, they recognize that teachers still have the freedom to use whatever educational tools they wish and that when telecommuting, they should be entitled to three days of disconnection a week. A situation that does not necessarily represent what is happening on the ground, much to the chagrin of those unions for whom the covid-19 crisis has revealed flaws in the French school system.
Teachers will have to assert this right despite the guilt that outside actors sometimes try to instill. It is up to them to develop schedules and a contract with learners so that they do not feel abandoned and are entitled to support. All while leaving time for their teachers to rest and be more fit for the rest of the educational continuity.
Illustration : Sayo Garcia on Unsplash
References:
Barroux, Armelle. "Digital Disconnection: Associative Employees Are Entitled To It Too." Associationmodemploi.fr. Last updated April 14, 2020.
https://www.associationmodeemploi.fr/article/deconnexion-numerique-les-salaries-associatifs-y-ont-droit-aussi.70711
Beaujon, Agathe. "How To Reconcile Telework And The Right To Disconnect?" Challenges. Last updated July 8, 2020.
https://www.challenges.fr/entreprise/vie-de-bureau/comment-concilier-teletravail-et-droit-a-la-deconnexion_717752
Champey, Thibault. "Thibaut Champey: "Au Regard Des Dispositifs Mis En Place Pour Le Télétravail, Refuser Le Droit à La Déconnexion Serait Une Faute Pour L'entreprise." Le Monde.fr. Last updated: November 27, 2020.
https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2020/11/25/au-regard-des-dispositifs-mis-en-place-pour-le-teletravail-refuser-le-droit-a-la-deconnexion-serait-une-faute-pour-l-entreprise_6061025_3232.html
"Continuité Pédagogique: Attention à La Souffrance Au Travail!" CGT-Educ'action Académie De Créteil. Last updated: March 25, 2020.
https://www.cgteduccreteil.org/Continuite-pedagogique-attention-a-la-souffrance-au-travail
"Droit à La Déconnexion Professionnelle : Comment L'appliquer? | Pénélope." Radio-Canada. Last updated March 3, 2020.
https://ici.radio-canada.ca/premiere/emissions/penelope/segments/panel/157284/droit-deconnexion-travail-loi-quebec
"Right to Disconnect: "Workers Have the Right to Pull the Plug!" - Alexandre Leduc." Quebec Solidaire. Last updated June 3, 2020.
https://quebecsolidaire.net/nouvelle/droit-a-la-deconnexion-les-travailleurs-ont-le-droit-de-tirer-la-plogue-alexandre-leduc
"Droit à La Déconnexion: Ce Que Dit Le Code Du Travail." JDN. Last updated May 13, 2020.
https://www.journaldunet.fr/management/guide-du-management/1201613-droit-a-la-deconnexion-code-du-travail-loi/
"Distance Learning: Let's Keep Control Of Our Work! - Sud éducation Alsace." Sud Education Alsace. Last updated: March 18, 2020.
https://www.sudeducalsace.info/spip.php?article1498
Khalfallah, Zeineb. "The Right to Disconnect, A Difficult Principle to Manage in the Telework Era." MyFlow. Last updated October 26, 2020.
https://myflow.ca/le-droit-a-la-deconnexion-un-principe-difficile-a-gerer-a-lere-du-teletravail/
"Le Droit à La Déconnexion: Comment Le Valoir?" 5A Conseil. Last updated February 4, 2020. https://www.garance-et-moi.com/blog/le-droit-a-la-deconnexion-comment-le-faire-valoir
"The School After: Still the Same Recipes?" SUD Education 34. Last updated June 1, 2020.
https://www.sudeducation34.org/spip.php?article1304
Wifvesson, Nelly. "The Right to Disconnect, One Of The Challenges Of The Moment?" The Moodwork Blog. Last updated December 21, 2020.
https://moodwork.co/blog/well-being/le-droit-a-la-deconnexion-challenge-du-moment/
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