A new study by researchers from the University of Jyväskylä has found that working outside office hours can help reduce exhaustion for some workers.
The study by a team at the university's Department of Linguistics and Communication Sciences followed thousands of workers in the IT sector.
The researchers found that being available for work-related tasks outside normal office hours was positively correlated to feeling in control of a job.
"It is linked to when, where and how one works. This is important because greater autonomy can help workers lessen the emotional strain of their work," said project leader Professor Anu Sivunen.
Sivunen's findings go against the grain of most previous research in this area. The conclusion of most studies on the negative effects of work is that being available outside working hours prevents workers from getting the recovery time they need to recharge their batteries and mentally detach themselves from their jobs.
However, Sivunen stressed that working outside of regular hours did not mean having to be available at all times.
"Being contactable outside working hours does not mean that employees should be available all the time, but rather that they can decide for themselves when to respond to messages. Reachability does not mean being at work all the time, but offers the possibility to organise the working day in a different way. For example, checking your emails in a sensible way according to your own time will help you manage your work," she said.
In January the European Parliament backed an initiative that gives EU workers the right to "switch off" and be uncontactable during their leisure time. The initiative states that workers should have the right to shut off their work phones and email accounts without repercussion. Time off work is a fundamental human right, the Parliament said.
The 'right to switch off' not yet in law
While the European Parliament voted in favour of the initiative, there are not yet EU-wide rules granting workers the right to switch off their work phones.
In 2017, Yle asked Finnish political parties whether they would support such a move, following the introduction of similar legislation in France.
The parties were clearly divided: the Centre Party, the Finns Party, the National Coalition Party, and the Christian Democrats were not in favour of the law. However, the SDP, the Left Alliance and the Greens supported the idea. Opponents said it was an issue that should be dealt with in the workplace or by local agreement, and that setting the rules in law would be too inflexible a solution.
In 2017, the most vocal opposition to a potential law protecting workers' free time came from the Finns Party. The Greens were ready to adopt the French model directly.
In Finland, the Working Hours Act was amended in early 2020. The new Act gives employers more freedom to set flexible working hours.
EU labour law sets minimum requirements for EU countries' laws, so if the initiative backed by the European Parliament were to become an EU directive, it would also have an impact in Finland.