Right to Disconnect After Work Extends Its Reach—from Labor Markets to Finance

Europe Leads, Asia Follows with Legal Proposals
Remote and Contactless Work Expanded Post-Pandemic
New Models of Work Span Borders and Time Zones

The “right to disconnect” after work, which has spread across Europe, is gaining traction as a system guaranteeing workers’ control over their own time. Version-control systems and collaboration tools that enable asynchronous workflows have laid the foundation for its expansion, while global companies have used them to establish cross-border, cross-time-zone work models. Against this backdrop, financial markets too now face global competition that demands around-the-clock responsiveness, prompting new efforts to strike a balance.

Rights for Workers, Rational Operations for Firms

The European Commission is in its second round of talks on a “potential initiative on the right to disconnect and fair telework.” This stems from a 2021 resolution by the European Parliament urging legislation, with labor and management expected to submit their views by October 6. France became the first to codify the principle in 2017 by mandating collective bargaining over the right to disconnect. Spain followed in 2018 with its Digital Rights Act, Portugal in 2021 with a telework law prohibiting out-of-hours contact. The European Court of Justice further ruled that “standby time at home that significantly restricts personal life must be regarded as working time,” catalyzing broader adoption of such laws.

The shift in workplace practices has played a pivotal role. In software development, for example, Github records changes and responsibility through “pull” and “push” functions. Work done overnight can be reviewed and extended the next day, while any defects are traceable through the system’s history. Such tools have made the right to disconnect not an abstract concept but a viable, enforceable practice.

The right has thus expanded beyond rest. In 2018, a landmark European ruling held that even brief response expectations could count as working hours, strengthening overtime and rest protections. Australia has codified reasonableness criteria to set clear exceptions. For companies, these systems reduce labor risk: records improve objectivity in performance evaluations. Taken together, the experiences of major economies show how the right to disconnect can become both a safeguard for workers and a rational standard for corporate management.

South Korea is still in the early stages. In March 2023, the government launched a task force and released draft guidelines that July, including recommendations against using mobile messaging for after-hours instructions and requirements for prior consent. But no legislation followed, amid pushback that blanket restrictions would be excessive given diverse industries and roles. Still, a recent survey found 82.5 percent of employees support the measure, reigniting the debate. With work-life balance and privacy seen as inevitable social currents, many now expect South Korea to eventually legislate the right to disconnect.

Asynchronous Collaboration Becomes the Norm

Corporate leaders increasingly acknowledge that “always on” expectations are inefficient in an era of expanding rights. Keeping entire staffs on standby for rare emergencies is costly and unproductive. As a result, multinationals are adopting “follow the sun” models, staffing global teams across time zones. The emphasis is shifting from instant responses to asynchronous collaboration based on records and transmission.

Collaboration tools make this possible. Kanban boards, for example, visualize tasks as “pending, in progress, completed,” enabling seamless handoffs without real-time interaction. Like Github’s traceable code history, Kanban clarifies responsibilities across shifts and geographies. The pandemic accelerated this transition, with companies adopting SaaS tools for messaging, videoconferencing, project and sales management, and customer service.

A 2021 survey by Slack Technologies of 1,001 South Korean employees at firms with more than 100 staff found 55 percent of knowledge workers believed collaboration tools boosted performance. Faster workflows (74 percent), improved cooperation (74 percent), and better remote communication (73 percent) topped the list of benefits. The findings suggest such tools reshape not only productivity but organizational culture itself.

Some 64 percent of employees wanted pandemic-era tools and workflows retained after office returns, and 49 percent said they improved retention. Forty-one percent even said they would seek other jobs if remote flexibility were removed, making work flexibility a key condition of recruitment and retention. Asynchronous collaboration has thus become not only a driver of changing work styles but a source of corporate competitiveness in attracting talent.

But limits remain. Forty percent of employees said they use six or more apps daily, switching between them 17 times a day for a cumulative 30 minutes. Twenty-four percent said poor integration makes work harder, not easier. External collaboration requires 3.8 platforms on average, with 36 percent using five or more. Fifty-eight percent of workers said they need a unified platform, underscoring demand for integrated solutions.

Finding Balance Amid Global Competition

The shift signals that work has entered a stage that transcends time and place. Since the pandemic, remote work has cemented location-free operations, while Dropbox’s “virtual first” model has shown how records and systems can sustain cross-border collaboration. “Companies now focus more on how employees work, rather than where,” noted Jae-Yong Shin, Dropbox’s business manager for Korea and Vietnam.

This reorganization of collaboration around records and processes is also linked to workers’ right to disconnect. Employees can avoid after-hours obligations, while work is passed seamlessly to colleagues in other time zones. Record-based systems clarify accountability and enable rotational workflows. Together, these developments are making asynchronous collaboration and the right to disconnect a new global standard for organizational management.

Financial markets are not immune. As of January, after-hours trading accounted for 11 percent of total volume on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, reflecting expanded access for European and Asian investors outside U.S. hours. Both exchanges already run 16-hour days across pre-market (4 a.m.–9:30 a.m.), regular session (9:30 a.m.–4 p.m.), and after-hours (4 p.m.–8 p.m.).

Starting late next year, U.S. exchanges plan to extend trading to 24 hours, five days a week, citing the growing importance of foreign retail investors. The U.K., Ireland, and Hong Kong are exploring similar expansions, while Korea Exchange has surveyed brokers and related institutions on the issue. Critics warn, however, that overly aggressive extensions could fragment liquidity and heighten volatility. Markets are therefore seeking tailored models that reflect national circumstances and demand, rather than sweeping changes.