RIGHT TO DISCONNECT: ANALYSIS THROUGH INDIAN

WORKFORCE LENS

I. INTRODUCTION
From dying to get our hands on technology (especially those mobile phones that caught the eye
of every young child), to trying to stay away from the grasps of that very same thing later on
in life, we all have come a long way. A world in which science and technology would liberate Commented [1]: Correct grammar

us human beings from long working hours was what philosopher Bertrand Russell had foreseen
to be one of the boons of technology. But to what extent is this true?

No matter whether one is for or against technology, our worlds will be governed by it to a great
extent. A large number of us reading this paper know for a fact that we have been born and Commented [2]: Better words please

brought up in a technological society and as a result of which a great percentage of our daily
activities requires us to be in touch with technology through one way or another. Everything
being just a click away i.e. from knowing about life changing global events to knowing about Commented [3]: Another word

how to fake a fever just to stay away from school or work, technology has the answer to it all.
As we sing in praise of technology or curse the very existence of it, either which way we need
to develop a more or less symbiotic relationship with it.

Technology indeed provides for a number of great advantages to mankind, and one such Commented [4]: Another word

advantage that this paper will be based on is the benefit of staying connected. Such a great area
of network and connectivity left unfiltered! Why is it so? Do we not have the right to disconnect Commented [5]: Another word

from this network? The Right to Disconnect Bill, 2018 (herein referred to as the Bill), deals
with this very question, but in relation to the employer-employee relationship. The Bill aims at
conferring a right on every employee to choose to disconnect form work related telephone calls
and emails post working hours and also the right to refuse the same during vacations.

"Employees physically leave the office, but they do not leave their work. They remain attached
by a kind of electronic leash-like a dog. The texts, the messages, the emails they colonize the
life of the individual to the point where he or she eventually breaks down." —Benoit Hamon
of the French National Assembly (2016). There exists no justifiable reason for stupialting
working hours if one is to continue working post the stipulated period. This is mainly because
technology govern the hours that we are to clock at work each day of our lives. How is this so?
With telephonic calls and e-mails that go directly to the phone or other technological devices
that one possesses, no one is truly away from work. Working hours extend way beyond those
stipulated in the contract and the situation becomes worse as a major section of the working
class is barely paid for the extra-time spent by them.

Taking into consideration all that is aforementioned, this study aims to determine the pros and
cons and also to suggest various amendment that could be brought to The Right to Disconnect
Bill, 2018.