A total of 9 in 10 workers (90 per cent) say their work negatively impacts their mental health & wellbeing, according to a survey carried out by HR Buddy.
A total of 46 per cent said they found it difficult to switch off from work, while 44 per cent said they could improve in this area.
48 per cent said sometimes their mental health and wellbeing has been impacted by work in the last 12 months, while 30 per cent said it is rarely impacted.
When respondents were asked if their workplace had a “Right to Disconnect” policy, 32 per cent said they did have a “Right to Disconnect” policy.
A total of 37 per cent said no and 31 per cent said they were not sure. The “Right to Disconnect” policy was introduced and signed by Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, as a code of practice in April 2021.
When asked if they had noticed a change since the policy was introduced, 43 per cent said they noticed no difference, 14 per cent answered yes with just 23 per cent saying there was a slight improvement.
A total of 20 per cent said they were not even aware of the “Right to Disconnect” policy.
The HR Buddy survey also revealed 72 per cent workers feel obligated to engage in out of hours work emails and calls. It found 60 per cent said it was their decision.
Respondents also asked to rate their work-life balance, with 66 per cent saying that it was either very poor, poor or needed improvement while 30 per cent said it was good.
Founder & chief executiveof HR Buddy, Damien McCarthy, said: “It is evident that we still have problems in workplaces with regard to the “always on culture” and how mental health and wellbeing can be impacted by this.
"It is incredible to think that the “right to disconnect” code of practice has not achieved its purpose with two-thirds of workers saying that they were not aware of this as a policy in their workplace. This is something that workplaces need to focus on and ensure that policies, training and communication and culture is created within workplaces.
"International studies prove that wellbeing initiatives in workplaces have a positive impact on mental health and wellbeing with engagement, retention, absenteeism and productivity all positively impacted by such initiatives.
"This is a very important focus now, given how much the work landscape is changing and the fact that workplaces are experiencing extraordinary times since the Covid-19 pandemic, cost of living crisis and a challenging labour market.”
Mr McCarthy warned that a raft of employment legislation for workers’ rights will not achieve an improved work-life balance alone.
