Tip #3 The Right To Disconnect

France was the first European country to introduce a law that gave workers the right to disconnect. That is, giving people permission to unplug from their workplaces after hours, including not being required to check work emails or respond to work related phone calls, after hours. While this is not a law in Australia, some companies have put in to place an Enterprise Business agreement that grants their workers the right to disconnect. The right to disconnect is not the same as quiet quitting.**

Many teachers I talk to say they can't switch off after hours. They have to plan, they have to respond to emails, they have to organise, sort, work and more. I admit there are times when it is necessary to work after hours but there needs to be a balance. Your health - physical, emotional, mental, relationships - is so much more important. 

During the lock-downs and restrictions in 2020 and 2021, people were forced to work from home if at all. I found myself working longer hours as I researched new methods of teaching and communicating the curriculum to students who were on a computer screen, rather than in the classroom. In some ways it was challenging and rewarding as I learned new things and looked for creative ways of teaching the same 'ol in an engaging way. At other times, it was also draining as I missed the social side of being with colleagues and with my students.

During lock-down, people grew accustomed to working from home and the benefits that it provided. Not having to endure peak-hour traffic, not having to get up too early and avoiding staffroom politics were some of the benefits that people acknowledged to me. 

What I wonder is; how long did it take for you to get back into the old habits once you were back on-site?

When I had been teaching for about seven years, a business manager looked at me and said, "If something was to happen to you, you would be replaced. No one is indispensable." He wasn't trying to be cruel, he was simply pointing out the truth. Yet we, in all our flurry of activity try to prove him wrong. We want to be indispensable so we work long hours, answer emails before they have time to get cold and tell our families, "It will quieten down soon... " 

Have you seen that look in your partner's/child's/parent's/best friend's eye when you say that? It saddens them to watch you succumb to another germ/virus going around the class because you're not getting enough rest for your immune system to strengthen. It breaks their heart as they see you pour all your energy into your work and then crash one the weekend when you could be enjoying an outing.

I am not trying to guilt-trip you at all!!! I am trying to remind you that you are important and to be the best you can be, as a person and as a teacher, you need to invest in yourself and your health. You need to live life. You need to be loved and supported by your family and friends. There might not be a law giving you the right to disconnect but it is a choice you can make. Give yourself the right to disconnect. 

Edited: It is not only your right to disconnect, it is your responsibility to disconnect. Your responsibility to yourself, your family and friends and to your workplace.

**Quiet quitting is when a person doesn't quit their job, they quit going above and beyond. It has implications, not only for the person involved, but also the business and those who they work alongside of. It can be construed as a form of passive-aggressive withdrawing.