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Gallagher Finn, Tara (2022) Blurring the boundaries: An explorative study of Millennials, switching off, and the Right to Disconnect. Masters thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.
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Abstract
A Code of Practice on the Right to Disconnect was introduced in April 2021 in Ireland to respond to increases in flexible working and the expanded usage of technology in the workplace (WRC, 2021). As these facilitate intermingling between work and personal lives, concerns arose about how this could prevent employees from switching off from work. From the literature review, it emerged that the failure to switch off after work can contribute to work-life conflict and a variety of other negative effects on the employee. There have been numerous attempts in Europe to combat this, both legislative and non-legislative. This study aims to investigate the impact of the Irish Code of Practice so far and how it has been received by employers and employees in Ireland. It will focus on millennial employees to explore whether they perceive difficulties with switching off and technology usage afterhours as issues impacting them. A quantitative questionnaire was used to gather data from millennials working in Ireland. This contained pre-existing scales to measure psychological detachment, work-life conflict and technological interruptions after hours, and a series of questions developed by the researcher on the Code of Practice. Respondents came from a wide range of employment sectors, positions within their organisations and working locations. 379 valid responses were gathered, and data analysis was conducted using SPSS.
The results showed correlations between poor psychological detachment and higher levels of work-life conflict, and between poor psychological detachment and negative perceptions of work-related technology interference after-hours. It indicated that senior managers and those working from offices are more likely to suffer from poor psychological detachment, work-life conflict and technology interruptions after-hours. Most respondents had not been notified of the Code of Practice’s introduction by their employers, nor had their employers introduced any new policies in response to it. The findings have implications for HR departments and employers, who need to do better at implementing the Code’s recommendations and create a Right to Disconnect policy that suits their organisation. Also, the vast majority of respondents support legislating for a Right to Disconnect, which should indicate to legislators that the Code is viewed as an insufficient attempt to tackle the problem.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Masters) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Psychological detachment; switching off; right to disconnect; work life conflict; technology interruptions; millennials |
| Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > Psychology H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > Issues of Labour and Work > Hours of Labour H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > Issues of Labour and Work > Quality of Work Life / Job Satisfaction |
| Divisions: | School of Business > Master of Arts in Human Resource Management |
| Depositing User: | Clara Chan |
| Date Deposited: | 18 Nov 2022 09:44 |
| Last Modified: | 18 Nov 2022 09:44 |
| URI: | https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/5870 |
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