Technology is often blamed for employees’ inability to disconnect from work. Can it also be part of the solution?
For Luxembourg’s newest employment minister, Georges Engel, enshrining the right to disconnect into law will be one of two goals for his short mandate.
Speaking at the 2022 HR conference Human Capital Europe on Tuesday, the LSAP minister said that normalisation of home working as a result of the pandemic meant that there was “no longer a clear distinction between professional and private life.”
He said: “Modern technology makes us reachable at all times, anywhere. It may be good in extreme situations but in general it’s not acceptable.”
The bill, which was introduced in October 2021, includes awareness-raising, training and compensation measures, as well as fines of up to €25,000 for employers who don’t toe the line.
“We’re aware that you can’t start with a blank page for HR technology.”
Emmeline Barbenchon
Tech for staff retention and wellbeing
The right to disconnect goes hand in hand with the phenomenon of burnout. But also with talent retention. The term “the great resignation” may overstate the scale of this global employee exodus but judging by the panels and talks hosted at the European Convention on Center on Tuesday, it is clearly a concern for HR managers. And here may be the new opportunity for technology to be part of the solution.
A proliferation of training and wellbeing apps have emerged over the past two years but their effectiveness may be limited until the legislative framework comes into force. Talent management specialist for SES Anastasia Nazare explained in an afternoon panel discussion that her firm took advantage of apps like Wellbeats and Viva Insights, among other tools, to keep track of employee well being during the pandemic. As she says, “you can have wonderful initiatives but employees need time to be able to use them.”
Tech for giving back time
While a corporate time machine remains in the realms of science fiction, employers are increasingly looking for technological solutions which can free up time by easing the administrative burden on staff.
Senior Manager, HR Technology & Transformation, PwC Luxembourg Emmeline Barbenchon cited an example of how a tweak to the clocking in process of one client saved 83 hours per week across the workforce.
Barbenchon also pointed out that an often-mentioned gripe of employees is the overabundance of systems in use. “They want to implement new technology but they can’t”, she said, adding: “We’re aware that you can’t start with a blank page for HR technology.” Nevertheless, tweaks are possible to HR technology systems. Whatever the solution sought, PwC senior manager and team leader for organisational change Tessy Thill stressed the importance of putting employees at the heart of the process. “From a change management point of view, adoption will be easier,” she said.
