Right to disconnect

Ruffy Magbanua

HOW would you like to be “disconnected” for a while, away from the hustle and bustle of digital-driven social life?
A civil society group, the Crusade for Clean Government, urges Congress to pass a law that will regulate the use of digital gadgets such as mobile phones, Internet, Facebook, and other related apps.
With such instant access to communication and social media apps these days, it appears it’s nearly impossible to set aside man’s modern-day BFF (best of friend)–the mobile phones.
Try to take a closer look at how we have become digital zombies over time. Anywhere, be it in urban or rural, one can’t start and end the day without cellular phones as digital buddies. Like it or not, mobile phones have practically changed the way we do things, a hi-tech gadget we can’t do without.
In short, mobile phones have eventually cornered the very core of our contemporary lifestyles–either you belong to the haves or to the have-nots.
What is disturbing, as one may notice, is the gradual effect on our health, in particular, on our very eyes, the windows to the soul, so to speak. Symptoms like digital eye strain, including but not limited to eye irritation, fatigue, eye strain, blurry vision, headache, neck and shoulder pains, among others, are definitely associated with the excessive use of cellular phones.
Further, posture is a big issue associated with mobile phone use as well. Consider this: we spend about two to four hours a day with our necks bent, reading the latest addition to the newsfeed, either on tweets or FBs — that’s nearly 60 pounds worth of pressure being placed on the cervical spine. This constant neck bend, although it may not bother you now, can lead to chronic pain later in life.
Likewise, high cellphone usage also causes increased levels of stress and negative emotions. Constant alerts of messages, e-mails, phone calls and social media notifications can put a serious toll on our mental health, thereby causing stress and sleep disorder.
To respond to this digital dilemma, there is now a law in France aptly called the right to disconnect. This new labor law gives workers the “right to disconnect” from e-mails, smartphones and other electronic gadgets.
In making this one-of-a-kind rule, French lawmakers believe that their netizens have the right to occasionally draw the line when their employers’ demands intrude on evenings at home, treasured vacations or Sundays with friends and family.
The passage of that labor guideline was anchored on the observation that more and more people or netizens are connected during off-hours outside of the office, or workplace. The new measure was designed to ensure respect for rest periods and balance between work and family and personal life.
The French labor law also requires companies with 50 or more employees to negotiate new out-of-office e-mail guidelines with staff. Firms have a duty to regulate the use of e-mails to ensure employees get a break from the office.
If management and staff cannot agree on new rules, the firm must publish a charter to define and regulate when employees should be able to switch off.
French unions have also pushed for a “disconnect” rule, saying digital technologies have created an “explosion of undeclared labor” that is forcing employees to work outside the typical work week.
Initially, some French companies have already put rules in place to bar employees from using their work devices after work hours. Some firms even completely shut down their e-mail systems overnight.
A recent study shows that the boundary between professional and personal life has become tenuous and cases of burnout are becoming more prevalent.
The law is deemed necessary to help people avoid being overwhelmed by work demands, an essential ingredient to preserve one’s health.
To our lawmakers, time to think outside the box. Maybe, as a country obsessed with mobile phones, it being the text capital of Asia, the time has come to duplicate what France did.
To cry over spilled milk is not an option, more so of saying sorry later is definitely not the solution either.

E-mail: ruffy44_Ph2000@yahoo.com