KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 — Juliet Soong, a 30-year-old senior public relations executive, often receives calls from her team manager around 10pm.
“At times, it would just be reminders to complete the next day’s tasks, sometimes just to rant about our clients.
“Maybe our bosses don’t realise that some people do go to bed by 10pm,” she told Malay Mail.
Soong is not alone.
John Tan works on shifts and frequently deals with non-urgent emails after hours, which he said is affecting his health.
“When I saw the email, it wasn’t urgent after all, but I had to respond,” the 35-year-old said.
He added that he often works overtime and leaves the office at midnight.
“When I finally ‘shut down’, it is 3am,” Tan related, adding that the frequent late nights due to work leave him exhausted and have resulted in health issues.
“I work from 8am to 8pm daily. The moment I pick up my daughter, I get an email requesting for a reply which could have been sent while I was still in the office.
“One time, I had to take my daughter to the clinic; we almost didn’t make it in time because I had to respond to endless emails,” said Mohamad Danial İdris, 27, a sales executive who faces challenges balancing work and family life.
All three wish for a law in Malaysia that would set a time limit on employees to respond to their bosses without fear of reprisal at work.
“If such a law existed in Malaysia, many parents would not have to sacrifice time with their children,” Danial said.
Such a law exists in over 20 countries like France and Belgium, where employees are allowed to ignore work-related communications after hours.
Australia recently implemented a “Right to Disconnect” law, effective from August 26, that aims to relieve employees from the pressure of responding to calls, emails, or texts from their employers outside of their regular working hours.
The Australian law does not prohibit after-hours contact but grants employees the right to refuse unreasonable requests.
Employers and employees are encouraged to resolve disputes internally, with the Fair Work Commission (FWC) stepping in if necessary.
Non-compliance with FWC orders can result in fines of up to A$19,000 (RM27,000) for employees and up to A$94,000 (RM282,000) for companies.
But some Malaysian employers and managers are concerned about how such a law might impact their operations.
Amelia Abdul Ghani, 33, a factory supervisor, worries that the law could lead to work delays due to time zone differences with their global offices.
“If my executives don’t reply to emails after hours, there will be a backlog and it will delay decision making processes at the global office,” she told Malay Mail.
Amy Tan, 42, a financial consultant, observed that excessive breaks and personal time can impact work efficiency.
“They are allowed breaks, but too much time spent on chats and tea breaks does actually affect work efficiency,” Tan said.
Salina Yaakob, 40, a senior accountant, said she only contacts her staff after hours when absolutely necessary, usually for urgent client requests.
“It’s usually to attend to sudden changes made by clients. If our clients are unhappy they could threaten to change agencies,” Salina said.
