There was a time when leaving work meant actually leaving work. You shut your laptop. You left the building. Your evening was yours. But today? The office follows us home – in Slack pings, late-night emails, and unread messages marked “just a quick one.”
As Australia has advanced more digitally and created new and more flexible ways of working, we have also created new ways of overworking.
That’s why the Right to Disconnect law in Australia isn’t just a legal update. It’s a mirror held up to our workplace culture. A signal that something needs to change.
And for the best workplaces? That change has already happened.
What Is the Right to Disconnect?
The Right to Disconnect is now law in Australia, giving employees the legal right to ignore unreasonable work communications outside of contracted hours, without fear of repercussions.
It was introduced through the Fair Work Legislation Amendment:
- Applies to most employees from 26 August 2024
- Extends to small businesses from 26 August 2025
This doesn’t mean all after-hours communication is banned. But it must be reasonable – encouraging employers to rethink norms and nurture a healthier messaging culture in Australian workplaces.
Why The Right to Disconnect Is Really About Workplace Culture
If you’re asking, what is workplace culture, really? – this is it
The push for flexible work and autonomy accelerated during the pandemic. But what also crept in was an unspoken pressure to be constantly reachable.
This has led to:
- Rising burnout across Australian industries
- A silent strain on mental health and workplace wellbeing
- An erosion of trust between leaders and employees
At Great Place To Work®, we’ve surveyed millions of workers globally and hundreds of thousands right here in Australia. And the link between culture and boundaries is clear:
- At Australia’s 2024 Best Workplaces™, a huge 91% of employees said they’re encouraged to balance work and personal life.
- In the general Australian workforce? Just 58% say the same.
That’s not a small gap, and for organisations competing for talent in a tight labour market, that divide matters.
What the Best Workplaces Are Already Doing
The best workplaces didn’t wait for legislation. They’ve long known that trust, performance, and well-being thrive in workplaces where people are allowed to disconnect.
These organisations:
- Normalise slower response times.
- Use tools like ‘schedule send’ to avoid disrupting people’s time off
- Model balance from the top – leaders log off, too
- Avoid celebrating burnout or late-night hustle culture
- Treat flexibility as personal, not performative. One size does not fit all
In short: they make rest part of performance, not the enemy of it.
What HR and People Leaders Can Do Next
If you’re in HR or leading culture, this moment is more than policy. It’s a pulse check on how your people experience work.
Ask yourself:
- Are our after-hours expectations clear and consistent?
- Do our people leaders walk the talk when it comes to boundaries?
- Are our communication tools designed to support disconnection?
- Do our people feel safe to switch off, without fear or guilt?
These aren’t just policy questions. They’re culture questions. And answering them well can shape trust, retention, and performance for the future of your workplace culture.
What Is the Right to Disconnect in Australia, and What It Reveals About Workplace Culture
There was a time when leaving work meant actually leaving work. You shut your laptop. You left the building. Your evening was yours. But today? The office follows us home – in Slack pings, late-night emails, and unread messages marked “just a quick one.”
As Australia has advanced more digitally, and created new and more flexible ways of working, we have also created new ways of overworking.
That’s why the Right to Disconnect law in Australia isn’t just a legal update. It’s a mirror held up to our workplace culture. A signal that something needs to change.
What Is the Right to Disconnect?
The Right to Disconnect is now law in Australia, giving employees the legal right to ignore unreasonable work communications outside of contracted hours, without fear of repercussions.
It was introduced through the Fair Work Legislation Amendment:
- Applies to most employees from 26 August 2024
- Extends to small businesses from 26 August 2025
This doesn’t mean all after-hours communication is banned. But it must be reasonable – encouraging employers to rethink norms and nurture a healthier messaging culture in Australian workplaces.
Why The Right to Disconnect Is Really About Workplace Culture
If you’re asking, what is workplace culture, really? – this is it
The push for flexible work and autonomy accelerated during the pandemic. But what also crept in was an unspoken pressure to be constantly reachable.
This has led to:
- Rising burnout across Australian industries
- A silent strain on mental health and workplace wellbeing
- An erosion of trust between leaders and employees
At Great Place To Work®, we’ve surveyed millions of workers globally and hundreds of thousands right here in Australia. And the link between culture and boundaries is clear:
- At Australia’s 2024 Best Workplaces™, a huge 91% of employees said they’re encouraged to balance work and personal life.
- In the general Australian workforce? Just 58% say the same.
That’s not a small gap.
And for organisations competing for talent in a tight labour market, that divide matters.
What the Best Workplaces Are Already Doing
The best workplaces didn’t wait for legislation. They’ve long known that trust, performance, and wellbeing thrive in workplaces where people are allowed to disconnect.
These organisations:
- Normalise slower response times.
- Use tools like ‘schedule send’ to avoid disrupting people’s time off
- Model balance from the top – leaders log off, too
- Avoid celebrating burnout or late-night hustle culture
- Treat flexibility as personal, not performative. One size does not fit all
In short: they make rest part of performance, not the enemy of it.
What HR and People Leaders Can Do Next
If you’re in HR or leading culture, this moment is more than policy. It’s a pulse check on how your people experience work.
Ask yourself:
- Are our after-hours expectations clear and consistent?
- Do our people leaders walk the talk when it comes to boundaries?
- Are our communication tools designed to support disconnection?
- Do our people feel safe to switch off, without fear or guilt?
These aren’t just policy questions.
They’re culture questions.
And answering them well can shape trust, retention, and performance for the future of your workplace culture.
What It Looks Like in Practice: Cobild
Across industries, forward-thinking organisations are showing that the Right to Disconnect isn’t just a compliance issue; it’s a cultural standard.
Here’s how one of our Best Workplaces™ Cobild, is putting that into action in one of Australia’s most high-pressure industries:
In Construction, Switching Off Takes Work — But It’s Work Worth Doing
At Cobild, we know that building exceptional buildings starts with building a culture where people thrive – on site and off.
Construction moves fast. Programs are tight, decisions happen on the fly, and teams are expected to deliver, again and again. In that kind of environment, the line between being dedicated and being drained can get blurry. But we don’t believe that working harder should come at the cost of your health, your family, or your sense of self.
Yes, we’re a high-performing business, and that means we take psychological safety seriously. Because when people feel respected, supported, and trusted, they don’t just turn up, they step up.
We know the legislation around the right to disconnect is a great move for Australian workplaces, but for us, culture and work life harmony has always mattered more than compliance. It’s not about rules, it’s about how we back each other, and how we lead every day.
Here’s how we’re putting that into practice:
- We don’t glorify burnout. Late-night emails and frantic comms shouldn’t be part of the culture. Thoughtful, documented planning and clear rhythms for communication help our Cobildians stay in control. Without planning, execution is just guesswork, and if you’re not planning, you’re not truly taking extreme ownership of the outcome.
- Rest is a strategy, not a reward. Annual leave, long weekends, appreciation days, whatever the break, we expect you to unplug. Recharging isn’t optional; it’s how leaders come back sharper and teams keep winning.
- Flexibility is built in. Staggered starts, compressed weeks, school-run, real life shapes our schedules. Trusting people to manage their time translates into better focus, stronger delivery, and room for parents and caregivers to thrive.
- Feedback is a habit, not an event. Monthly check-ins (with ALL Cobildians) and 360s surface what’s working and where pressure is building. A standing question—“How are your hours and workload this month?” – keeps the conversation honest, early, and actionable.
- Mindset is part of the skill set. Performance coaches Nam Baldwin and Jonah Oliver work closely with our teams to sharpen resilience, self-mastery, and elite habits, because in this industry, technical skills aren’t enough. It’s mindset, discipline, and leadership that drive results, and everyone needs this blend.
- We give you off-switch tools. Half-yearly Vedic Meditation training with Alex Wild, weekly guided sessions, and access to our Uprise EAP and Mynd wellness app give every Cobildian and their families practical ways to reset body and mind.
To our fellow Great Places to Work – especially in high-stakes industries like Construction, the pressure is real. But so is the responsibility. Wellbeing and performance aren’t trade-offs; they’re partners.
