“The Covid-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed the way we work. Now, more than one in three European workers are working from home. The pressure to be always ‘on’, always reachable, is growing as the boundaries between private life and work life are increasingly becoming blurred. Working from home makes it particularly difficult to switch off. Studies show that people who regularly work from home are twice as likely to work more than the maximum 48 hours per week limit laid down in EU law. The human cost is high: from unpaid overtime, to muscular and eye illnesses, to depression and burnout. We cannot abandon millions of European workers, who keep going and do their jobs under the extremely difficult circumstances of the pandemic, but who are exhausted by the pressure to be always 'on' and the extended working hours. Now is the moment to stand by their side and give them what they deserve: the right to disconnect.

“After working hours or while on holidays, workers must be able to switch off their phone or emails without fear of negative consequences. This is vital for our mental and physical health. It is time to update worker’s rights to the new realities of the digital age.”

Read more here

Find out more about the Socialists and Democrats' commitment to defending the right to disconnect and other fundamental social rights.

MEPs involved
Vice-president
Malta
S&D press contact