Americans lose it over Australian workers right to disconnect

Americans are in disbelief after finding out Australians can now ignore their bosses outside of working hours.

Aussie workers have just been given the right to ignore their bosses outside of working hours, and Americans are in disbelief.

From August 26, Aussie workers have been given the “right to disconnect” outside of work hours. This means employees will have the right to refuse contact outside of their working hours and to refuse to monitor, read, or respond to contact from an employer or third party.

This is all within reason, of course, and several factors need to be considered before ignoring your boss. These include the reason for the contact, how the contact is made, and how disruptive it is to the employee and their personal circumstances, such as family or caring responsibilities.

Another factor is whether the worker is being compensated or paid extra to be available to be contacted to perform work within a specific period or for working additional hours outside of their ordinary work.

It is a controversial decision; some workers are relieved, some bosses are frustrated, but Americans are just plain baffled.

. The US show Outnumbered ran a segment on the new law. Picture: FoxNews

Mr O’Leary wasn’t impressed by the new Aussie Law. Picture: FoxNews

Outnumbered, a US Show that airs on Fox News, ran a segment on it and invited Canadian businessman and television personality Kevin O’Leary to discuss the new Australian law, but he wasn’t impressed.

Mr O’Leary made his fortune by creating and then selling a software company to Mattel for millions.

He is also one of the sharks on the business show Shark Tank, where budding entrepreneurs pitch their business plans in hopes one of the sharks will buy into it.

“What happens if you have an event in the office and it is closed? Or you have an emergency room somewhere and you have to get of hold of them at 2am in the morning because it affects the job they are on,” he said.

“This kind of stuff just makes me crazy. It is so dumb. Who dreams this crap up? Why would anyone propose such a stupid idea?”

Mr O’Leary called the new law “dumb.” Picture: FoxNews

Americans have reacted to the new law online. Picture:

When a co-host questioned how he’d handle an employee putting their phone on silent mode and not getting back to him, he said, “I just fire them.”

Mr O’Leary doubled down on his opinion on X, formally known as Twitter, and said the policy was nonsense.

“If you can’t be reached when the job depends on it, you’re out. Who dreams up these ridiculous ideas? If someone tells me they’re in ‘silent mode,’ they’re fired,” he raged.

The response to Mr O’Leary’s tweet made it clear that many Americans can’t comprehend the idea of being allowed to ignore their boss.

“If the employer wants emergency response from employees, it should negotiate that and be willing to pay a salary that reflects that commitment. No one needs government to dictate how the labour market should work,” one argued.

“One pattern I have noticed with leftist policies is that it is always about encouraging non-work and punishing successful people,” another declared.

“Some of my better ideas happened when I’m at home or out to dinner. I couldn’t imagine getting in trouble for sending a text or email about it,” another worker shared.

“If you’re making $100k+ a year and you can’t take a few calls in critical situations after hours, I absolutely assure you, there’s someone else who will,” another argued.

“It was easier to deal with a problem when it was happening than to deflect it to someone else or a later day,” one wrote.

Aussie Millennial boss Brittney Saunders is all for the law. Picture: Instagram/BrittneySaunders

She called the law “common sense.” Picture: Instagram/BrittneySaunders

Aussie Millennial boss Brittney Saunders told news.com.au earlier this week that it should be “common sense” not to contact employees unnecessarily outside of work hours.

Ms Saunders, 31, lives in Newcastle, has over 60 employees, runs five retail stores, and has an eight-figure business empire.

The 31-year-old, who is entirely self-made and also hosts a podcast called Big Business, said employees shouldn’t be “harassed” by their employers in their own time.

“I just know how impactful this legislation is going be for those employees who are constantly harassed by their boss or manager,” she told news.com.au.

“Being expected to take work home with them or being asked questions that could absolutely wait until tomorrow.”

Originally published as Americans lose it over Australian workers right to disconnect