How do we set boundaries for ourselves so that we don't end up working long hours and weekends......
According to Beth Crocker's article in Thrive Global "It is incumbent on you to determine the root cause of the long hours, and work toward diminishing them to drive better productivity, higher morale, and improved quality". Beth has put together a list of tips to Set Boundaries in the Age of Burn-out and gets us to question if answering that email or working long hours is Really “Weekend Worthy?”
Check it out https://lnkd.in/e98FKqi
#morale #societyandculture #workinghours
Are you constantly checking or sending work emails outside of office hours? As an employer, you may need to reconsider....
With the introduction of smart phones and our ability to easily access our emails outside of the office; we have all become far more accessible to both our employer and our employees. But is this a good thing?
A recent case in Ireland brought home to me the need for employers to bring in policies around the use of smart phones outside of office hours in their organisation. The Irish Times reported on the 2nd August 2018 that an executive for Kepak was awarded €7,500 for having to deal with late night emails. The employee reported that she worked close to 60 hours a week and was handling emails after midnight. According to the Labour Court "The law is very clear. Employees are entitled to an uninterrupted 11 hour break between finishing work and starting work the following day". They also pointed out that checking emails is considered to be working time. Therefore, if you were to add up all of the hours that employees spend outside of office time, sending and responding to emails could bring their working hours in excess of 48 hours. This is the maximum number of hours that Irish employees should be working on a regular basis.
We are all guilty of checking our emails outside of the office as it is often easier to respond there and then rather than wait until the next day. There is also a European-wide push to have the work place more flexible. Therefore employees may choose to send and respond to emails outside of office as long as the employer allows them some flexibility to be able to undertake some personal tasks during office hours. If employers do decide to go down this road they should have clear policies and procedures for employees, which clearly outlines how it is going to work for both the employer and the employee. They should also ensure that any agreement between both parties does not breach the Working Time Act.
Employers should never assume that the employee will be okay with being contacted outside of office hours. In my experience being given a mobile phone by your employer implies that you are accessible 24 hours a day. This is no longer the case. Some European Countries have started to individually address this issue and as of the 1st January 2017 the French brought in new employment laws which obliges organisations with more than 50 workers to start negotiations to define the rights of employees to ignore smartphones and guarantee employees "the right to disconnect".
All employers should consider that every employee has the "right to disconnect". If the role requires the post holder to be contactable outside of office hours regardless of the employees preference then the employer needs to pay the employee an "on call allowance".
What does GDPR mean for your Sports or Recreational Club?
Some might think data protection is for large organisations and doesn’t apply to small organisations and clubs. But if your club holds names, addresses and contact details, next of kin details, disability data, financial information including bank account details, means that you must adhere to the Data Protection Act 1988 (DPA).
From the 25th May 2018 new EU General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) have placed certain obligations on sports clubs who process individual’s personal data. It regulates how personal information should be used and protects people from misuse of their personal details. So, you now need to not only know what your obligations are, but club committees need to understand how the DPA affects your club going forward. It is the law and non-compliance can lead to complaints being made to the Data Protection Commissioners Office. If data is misused there could be a fine levied against your club.
WHAT ARE THE EIGHT PRINCIPLES?
Personal data will be:
- Processed fairly and lawfully
Have a legitimate reason for collecting and using the data and tell the individual what you will be doing with their data.
- Processed for specified, lawful and compatible purposes
Open about the reasons for obtaining personal data.
- Adequate, relevant and not excessive
Hold sufficient personal data about an individual to do the job and not hold more information than is needed.
- Accurate and up to date
Take reasonable steps to ensure the information is accurate and up to date.
- Not kept for longer than necessary
Consider the purpose for why you hold the information and regularly review how long you keep the data.
- Processed in accordance with the rights of the individual
The DPA gives certain rights to individuals. The main ones to note are – any individual has the right to view certain information that is held about them, the right to prevent the processing of their personal information and the right to say no to marketing information.
- Processed with appropriate security
Be aware of how personal data and sensitive personal data is protected - lock filing cabinets, change passwords regularly on computers, password protect documents.
- Not transferred outside the European Economic Area without adequate protection
Do not transfer outside of the EEA unless that country has adequate protection for personal and sensitive personal date.
WHAT DO CLUBS NEED TO DO TO COMPLY?
- Adopt a data protection statement for your club
- Ensure any forms that collect Personal Data (i.e. club membership form) include a data protection statement and consent from each club member
- Ensure all records are kept securely and up to date – i.e. locked away, password protected documents on computers.
- Old data about past members should be deleted
- Ensure that only nominated (ideally no more than three) club officials have access to Personal Data and understand how to comply with the Act
- Do not disclose – written or verbal – any Personal Data for any member to anyone
- Ensure that for any emails that are sent to more than one individual, email addresses are BCC’d (blind copied).
- Consider the adoption of a Data Protection Policy and place it on your club website