Switching off from work sounds simple.
When the working day ends, you stop checking emails. When you go on holiday, you leave work behind. When you are taking time away from work, you should be able to focus on something else.
But is it really that straightforward?
With smartphones, emails and workplace messaging apps making it possible to stay connected almost constantly, switching off from work can be difficult for many employees.
Research suggests that switching off from work is a genuine challenge for many UK professionals. A 2024 survey by recruitment firm Robert Walters found that 70% struggled to switch off from work, 35% experienced increased stress or anxiety as a result, and 29% had lost sleep over work-related messages or tasks. The research also found that 76% checked work emails or calls outside working hours. These findings highlight why employers should look beyond out-of-office messages and consider whether workplace expectations, workloads and communication practices are making it difficult for employees to disconnect. Source: Robert Walters, October 2024.
This raises an interesting question for employers: should organisations have rules to help employees switch off from work?
Why is switching off from work becoming more difficult?
The traditional boundary between work and personal time has become less clear.
An employee may finish work at 5pm but still receive emails at 7pm. Someone taking annual leave might check their inbox “just quickly” to see whether anything urgent has happened. Others may feel that they need to remain available in case their manager or colleagues need them.
Over time, this can make it harder to mentally disconnect from work.
An out-of-office reply can help create a clear boundary by letting other people know that an employee is unavailable. But simply switching on an automatic reply does not necessarily mean someone has actually switched off.
The bigger question is whether employees feel comfortable doing so.
What does an out-of-office reply say about workplace culture?
An out-of-office message is usually treated as a practical administrative tool.
Someone is away, so they tell others when they will return and who to contact in the meantime.
But it can also reveal something about workplace expectations.
If employees feel they need to explain exactly why they are away, continue checking messages or provide a personal phone number so they can still be contacted, are they really being given the opportunity to switch off from work?
There is a difference between being contactable when genuinely necessary and creating an expectation that employees should always be available.
That distinction is worth considering.
Should employers encourage employees to switch off from work?
There are good reasons why they should.
Employees need time away from work to rest and recover. Regularly thinking about unfinished tasks, responding to messages or worrying about what is waiting in the inbox can make it difficult to create a genuine separation between work and personal life.
Employers can support healthier boundaries by setting clear expectations around communication outside working hours and making sure employees understand when they are and are not expected to respond.
This does not necessarily mean introducing strict rules about every email or out-of-office message.
Sometimes, the most effective approach is simply to create a culture where switching off from work is accepted and respected.
But what if employees are afraid to switch off from work?
This is where the conversation becomes more complicated.
An organisation might have a policy saying that employees do not need to respond to emails outside working hours.
But what happens if managers regularly send messages late at night?
Or if an employee feels that taking annual leave will leave them with an unmanageable workload when they return?
Or if nobody else can cover their responsibilities while they are away?
In these situations, telling employees to “switch off from work” may not address the real problem.
The difficulty could be workload, staffing, management expectations or a lack of control over work.
Sometimes, the reason someone cannot switch off from work is because the work itself has become difficult to switch off from.
When switching off from work becomes a mental health issue
Not being able to switch off does not automatically mean that someone has a mental health problem.
However, persistent difficulty disconnecting from work can be one part of a wider picture of workplace stress.
If employees regularly feel overwhelmed, unable to manage their workload or under pressure to remain available, employers should consider whether there are underlying workplace factors contributing to that pressure.
This is particularly important when the same concerns appear across a team or organisation.
One person checking their emails while on holiday may be an individual choice.
An entire team feeling unable to take a proper break from work suggests there may be something more fundamental to explore.
Should switching off from work be part of a workplace mental health strategy?
It can be.
Supporting employee mental health is not simply about responding when someone becomes unwell. It also involves looking at the working environment and considering what might contribute to stress in the first place.
That could mean examining workloads, working hours, management practices, communication expectations and whether employees have enough control and support.
A mental health risk assessment can help employers take a more structured look at these potential risks.
Rather than focusing only on whether employees are coping, it asks an important question:
Is there anything about the way work is organised that could be affecting people’s mental health?
What can employers do?
There does not need to be a complicated policy to encourage switching off from work.
Clear expectations can make a significant difference.
Employees should know when they are expected to be available and when they can reasonably disconnect. Managers should also understand that sending an email does not necessarily mean an immediate response is required.
Annual leave should allow employees to take time away from their responsibilities, with appropriate arrangements for covering essential work.
Most importantly, employees should feel able to raise concerns if their workload or working arrangements are making it difficult to switch off.
These measures can help create a culture where taking time away from work is seen as a normal and necessary part of working life, rather than something employees need to feel guilty about.
Is an out-of-office policy really the answer?
Perhaps not on its own.
Rules about out-of-office replies can provide useful guidance, particularly where organisations need consistency around absence and alternative contacts.
But an out-of-office policy cannot fix excessive workloads or a culture of constant availability.
If employees are switching on their out-of-office reply but still checking emails every few hours, the organisation needs to look beyond the automatic message.
The real issue may be whether employees genuinely feel able to switch off from work.
Creating a workplace where people can switch off
There is no single approach that will work for every organisation.
Different roles have different responsibilities, and some employees may need to remain contactable in certain circumstances.
But that does not mean constant availability should become the default.
Employers can start by asking whether their workplace encourages healthy boundaries or unintentionally makes it difficult for employees to disconnect.
Are employees taking their full annual leave?
Do people regularly respond to work messages outside their normal hours?
Do employees feel anxious about being unavailable?
Are workloads manageable when people return from leave?
And do managers understand the importance of allowing employees to properly disconnect?
These questions can reveal much more than an out-of-office message ever could.
Switching off from work starts with the workplace
Employees have a role to play in maintaining healthy boundaries, but employers also have a responsibility to consider whether workplace practices are making those boundaries possible.
Switching off from work should not simply be something employees are told to do. It should be something the workplace makes possible.
For organisations that want to take this further, understanding potential workplace mental health risks is an important starting point.
Our Risk Assessing Mental Health course helps employers, managers and HR professionals develop the knowledge and confidence to identify potential mental health risks in the workplace and take a more proactive approach to managing them.
Because sometimes, helping employees switch off starts with looking at what is making it difficult for them to switch off in the first place.