Hey bosses, the writing is on the wall for after-hours work emails

If you’re reading this article on your own time, you have my permission to read all the way through without stopping to check your work email. Or Slack. Or your Twitter DMs. Or any other method of communication you use to connect with colleagues.

The fact is, constant connectivity is taking its toll on our personal lives (as sci-fi writer David Gerrold astutely predicted it would back in 1999), and lawmakers are starting to take notice. The New York City council, for instance, recently proposed a bill that would prohibit employers from requiring workers to answer after-work missives.

In light of what we hope is a growing movement to let workers reclaim their time Maxine Waters-style, we asked Twitter users what they think about the issue. The survey wasn’t scientific, but the results were pretty compelling: Out of 563 responses, 79% agreed it should be illegal for bosses to make employees answer after-work emails, either because they thought their staffs needed a break or because they themselves needed to disconnect. Only 6% of respondents said they expected their staffs to be online around the clock.

I’ve embedded the poll below. Feel free to retweet it at your earliest convenience. No rush.

POLL: Should it be illegal for your boss to make you email after work?

— Fast Co. Ideas (@FastCoIdeas) March 27, 2018