Why that 9 p.m. email from the boss is making you sick. And how Ontario’s ‘Right to Disconnect’ law could help

It's 9 p.m. on a Thursday night. Dinner's been eaten and the dishwasher is packed. Your nighttime ritual has officially begun, starting with a warm cup of tea and the latest episode of Succession" cued on your TV.

As you sink into the couch, your phone vibrates on the coffee table. One ding, then two. Please revise before tomorrow's deadline," a message from your boss reads, followed by a response from another colleague copied on the email thread.

In a panic, you get up from the couch and grab your phone, rushing to understand what needs to be revised and to respond. Adrenalin kicks in, and you're suddenly jolted from any feelings of rest and relaxation. Meanwhile, your partner is silently angry you're on your phone once again during off-hours, working into the night.

For many Canadians, this scenario is too familiar. An Angus Reid poll commissioned this year by Scott Schieman, a University of Toronto researcher, found that 20 per cent of Canadians are contacted by their boss after work hours several times a week. For 10 per cent of Canadians, this type of out-of-work disturbance happens several times a day.

It is why the Ontario government passed the Working for Workers Act - also known as the Right to Disconnect" law - on Nov. 30, in a bid to have employers think twice before sending that after-hours email, and to make it easier to spend time with family and loved ones," according to a government news release.

The law requires companies to develop their own policies about the right to disconnect from email contact and calls outside of scheduled work hours. Companies have six months to comply from when the bill receives royal assent, though workplace experts are critical about whether the law will lead to fundamental changes in the era of technology.

But there's no denying that additional stress outside work hours, caused by the rapidly blurring lines between home and work, has had a tremendously negative impact on our mental health - one that's bigger than workers may realize. And it's a situation that's been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

My dad used to say the only work he'd bring home would be in the briefcase," said Schieman, who is the chair of the department of sociology at U of T. Now, people check their emails during dinner, or text their boss while getting the kids ready for school.

Those things are now all enabled by technological devices," he added.

Eliana Cohen, a Toronto-based psychologist who specializes in workplace mental health, says that a 9 p.m. email from a boss is likely to activate two types of physical stress responses in the brain and body, both rooted in ancient psychology: one is the fight-or-flight" response, the other is to play dead."

In fight-or-flight, you're activated, and you're either getting ready to run or ready to fight," Cohen said. This response ignites a rush of adrenalin and a faster heart rate. It also causes feelings of hostility and irritability. The heightened adrenalin, especially after a late-night email, could cause difficulties in sleeping and feelings of anxiousness the following morning.

You might not feel like approaching the job with the same enthusiasm the next morning because you might be in a flight response," Cohen said.

The other response of playing dead" can show up through dissociative behaviour, Cohen said. People may appear calm on the surface, but internally they've completely shut down and their heart rate drops. Sometimes, an employee can't get out of bed" the next day, she said, having to drag themselves out in order to feel slightly motivated.

These responses to stress are both natural and protective, Cohen said. But if after-hours disturbances persist, so could these symptoms, leading to burnout and sometimes feelings of extreme depression. The impact also bleeds into our social life and relationships with others, causing a buildup of even more stress and anxiety.

If we're constantly focused in one area, such as work, and we don't have time for creativity, white space, or time to socially connect with others ... then that ends up being quite damaging over time," said Paula Allen, global leader of research at LifeWorks (formerly Morneau Shepell), who is surveying the mental health of workers over the pandemic.

But experts maintain not all after-hours work disturbances are negative, and that some workers aren't passive in receiving them. Some welcome both receiving and sending messages after work hours, especially if it involves an issue they feel is important and needs immediate attention.

Not everybody is feeling oppressed by this after-hours contact. Some people are like, This is part of the job and I've accepted it,' " Schieman said, especially if the work is salaried and offers some type of flexibility or time off as compensation. It's why he is skeptical whether a right-to-disconnect" law would end overworking altogether.

I'm skeptical whether the government can really get into the weeds of the kinds of workplace cultures and policies and practices that would enforce a 100 per cent disconnect, and I don't think they can," he said.

Right-to-disconnect legislation isn't entirely new, either, as France enacted similar legislation in 2017. The French law, like Ontario's, leaves its implementation up to employers. In one case, it led to a French employee being awarded $87,000 by his former employer, a pest control company, after being asked to permanently leave his phone on during off hours.

But France's law doesn't impose sanctions on companies that don't comply, and experts have cautioned it's unclear yet what Ontario's law will look like in practice.

What the law has done, however, is open up a conversation about the need for a better work-life balance at a time when more and more Canadian workers are reportedly struggling. LifeWorks' recent survey, released Thursday, found nearly one-quarter of workers say their working life has worsened during the pandemic, and their mental health is significantly impacted as a result.

What the (law) does is put a line in the sand that we have to be careful," Allen said.

Nadine Yousif is a Toronto-based reporter for the Star covering mental health. Follow her on Twitter: @nadineyousif_