Each week, Dr Kirstin Ferguson tackles questions on workplace, career and leadership in her advice column, “ Got a Minute? ” This week: an employer ignoring the details of right-to-disconnect laws, a lack of motivation years out from retirement and lost confidence after a toxic workplace. Right to disconnect laws come into effect from August 26, 2024. Credit: Dionne Gain My employer says the new right-to-disconnect law doesn’t apply in my workplace since we are all salaried employees, not on minimum wage.
My company won’t even acknowledge the spirit and intent of the legislation. Is this correct? What does this new law mean for those of us on a salary? Loading Your employer is wrong; whether you are salaried or being paid an award wage is irrelevant to whether they need to comply with the new right-to-disconnect laws . The laws, which come into effect from August 26 this year for any business with more than 15 employees, will mean employees have a right to refuse contact with their employer outside of work hours unless it is deemed unreasonable to do so (for example, if you are on call or being paid to work outside ordinary hours).
To be clear, there is no penalty for an employer sending an email or trying to call you after hours, but you have the right not to respond, and you can’t be penalised for exercising that right. Your employer should check the advice for employers being offered by the Australian HR Institute to comply with this change. Best-practice employers have been following the spirit and intent of these ideas for years so if your employer thinks contacting you constantly outside of usual work hours is OK, that is a serious concern.
I’m in my early 60s and have been working at the same place for more than 15 years. The role has changed significantly, in a good way, and has provided challenges and kept me motivated. Over the last year, though, that motivation has waned.
I need to work full-time for at least another few years because of debt. The likelihood of getting another job is very low. Apart from grinning and bearing it, any suggestions? Loading It sounds like you have a secure job, which will hopefully see you through to retirement, so I can understand why you wouldn’t want to leave.
My first thought is to speak with your boss about how you are feeling. They obviously value you, so I wonder if it might help to tell them how much you love the company, how keen you are to keep adding value until the day you retire in some years’ time, and how you have appreciated the changes they have made to the role over time. I would then suggest some ideas for how that might continue.
Do you have thoughts in mind for other responsibilities you could take on or switch up in your current role? Second, have you spoken with someone like a psychologist or a service like Lifeline about how you are feeling? As you come to the end of your career and have other life changes, you could benefit from talking to someone. If your employer offers an EAP service, you could try and access help through that. I have been in a toxic workplace environment for a long while now.
In my team, there has been a manager who has been able to appease their managers by shifting blame and saying all the right things, delivering the bare minimum of their own work while gaslighting their current staff. I do not have the financial means to resign. I’m hoping for any wisdom on how to back yourself to get a new job; I feel I am good at what I do but have not been able to demonstrate it where I am.
Try to think back to how you felt when you first applied for the role you are in now. I am sure when you applied, you backed yourself for all the skills, professionalism and expertise you brought to the role. Unfortunately, you have been in a bad environment for so long that it has impacted how you see yourself and the value you think others might see in you.
It seems clear you know you need to leave your current role, so try and focus now only on what you can control: when you leave, how you leave and what you leave to go and do. Everything your current employer saw in you when they hired you is still there – plus much more, since you have learnt to navigate working in a challenging environment as well – so now, trust that others will see that too. Actively search for the role you want and know you are much stronger than you feel; focus on how much better life will be when you are working in an environment where you can thrive.
To submit a question about work, careers or leadership, visit kirstinferguson.com/ask (you will not be asked to provide your name or any identifying information. Letters may be edited).
Make the most of your health, relationships, fitness and nutrition with our Live Well newsletter . Get it in your inbox every Monday . Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later.
License this article Got a Minute? Workplace For subscribers Dr Kirstin Ferguson AM is the best-selling author of Head & Heart: The Art of Modern Leadership. Kirstin is ranked in the world's Thinkers50 list and holds a PhD in leadership and culture. Learn more at www.
kirstinferguson.com. Connect via Twitter , Facebook or email .
Most Viewed in Lifestyle Loading.
