ARTICLES

It is 9:30pm. Your employee gets a message from their manager asking for an update on a project. They respond — because the culture in your business makes it clear that being responsive is valued. 

They feel mild stress at the interruption. Their sleep is slightly disrupted. Tomorrow, they are marginally less focused than they would have been.

Multiply this by five nights a week, fifty weeks a year, and you begin to understand the compound cost of always-on culture.

 

The legal dimension is no longer theoretical 

In September 2024, Australia became one of the first countries in the world to legislate a genuine “right to disconnect.” Under changes to the Fair Work Act, most employees in non-small-business settings now have the right to refuse unreasonable contact outside their working hours, and refusing to engage cannot constitute grounds for adverse action.

The legislation applies to small businesses from August 2025. If you have not yet reviewed your communication practices and updated your policies, you are behind the curve — and potentially exposed.

But the business case for addressing this extends well beyond compliance. A 2024 study by Safe Work Australia found that employees who regularly worked outside contracted hours were 42% more likely to report high levels of psychological distress. Psychological distress is a psychosocial hazard. Psychosocial hazards are now squarely within your duty of care.

 

Creating a digital wellbeing policy that actually works

A policy only changes behaviour if it is supported by leadership modelling, clear expectations, and genuine accountability. Three steps:

1. Establish explicit norms around communication hours.

What are the hours during which a response is expected? What constitutes genuine urgency that warrants after-hours contact? Write this down, share it, and have your leaders live it.

2. Audit your own communication patterns as a leader.

If you send emails at midnight, your team will check their inbox at midnight — regardless of what the policy says. Culture flows from the top.

3. Review your on-call and after-hours arrangements.

If you have roles that genuinely require after-hours availability, ensure this is compensated appropriately, documented clearly, and as limited in scope as operationally possible.

 

Always-on culture was a competitive signal in a different era. In the current environment, it is a turnover driver, a compliance risk, and a wellbeing liability. The businesses getting ahead of this now will not be managing a crisis later.

 

Ready to get ahead of this? Book your free 30-minute consultation at Blue Kite HR Consulting