Speaking in Parliament on 14 October 2020, NTUC Assistant Secretary-General Melvin Yong reiterated his call for the Government to consider a “Right to Disconnect” legislation.
In his speech, Mr Yong highlighted the challenges faced by workers who telecommute due to COVID-19.
“They must juggle multiple responsibilities, such as looking after children, taking care of elderly parents, and trying to remain productive at work. To make matters worse, because they work from home, their bosses think that it is easier for them to answer work-related calls and emails, at any time of the day, even after office hours,” he said.
His main concern was workplace burnout.
Based on the feedback he received, Mr Yong stated that there are three common criticisms against having a Right to Disconnect legislation in Singapore. These include:
Mr Yong explained that based on the criticism he received, it showed that many did not quite understand the scope of the proposed legislation.
“Let me reassure critics that I am not calling for rigid laws that specify working hours, nor am I calling for Singaporeans to be less productive, and certainly not for Singapore to be any less competitive.
“It is simply about ensuring that our workers have protected time to rest,” he explained.
Citing France as an example – the pioneering country of the legislation – he said that the country still sees many workers choosing to work beyond their official work hours.
“The difference is that they now have to respect their colleagues’ personal time and cannot expect them to work past official hours for non-urgent, non-critical tasks that can be completed the next working day,” he said.
On the criticism that the legislation will erode Singapore’s competitiveness, Mr Yong brought up a study by Stanford University which showed overworking beyond 55 hours per week causes a sharp decline in productivity per hour.
“… Well-rested employees are more productive, more careful and are better able to contribute creatively at the workplace,” he said.
On being disadvantaged in the eyes of employers, Mr Yong attributed it to fundamentally being an issue of presenteeism at the workplace, which has found to be detrimental to a company’s performance.
“Staff’s performance should be measured by the outcomes achieved against clear goals set, not by the extended hours spent,” he said.
Citing what the Ministry of Education is already doing for teachers during the school holidays, he said that disconnecting is all about creating protected time to rest and recharge.
“In simple terms, what I am calling for is that we help our employees carve out protected time for them to rest and recharge,” said Mr Yong.
However, Mr Yong agreed with Senior Minister of State Zaqy Mohamad that more study was needed before the legislation could be implemented.
Mr Yong said that he hopes the upcoming Tripartite Advisory on Mental Health would include aspects of the “Right to Disconnect”.
He added that the unions are open to working hand-in-hand with employers on the protocols to answer non-critical work calls and emails outside of working hours and provide appropriate help for those facing workplace burnout.
He also urged the Ministry of Manpower to conduct yearly surveys on workplace mental health, to track how workers are faring mentally, identify best practices and guide collective efforts to provide better workplace mental health support.
“I hope that tackling workplace burnout will be a key priority in the newly announced COVID-19 Mental Wellness Taskforce. After all, a mentally resilient workforce leads to a safer work environment for all,” he said.
