Increased remote and home working can mean a welcome increase in flexibility for workers, but for some it can make drawing the line between work and home even more complicated.

This is more prevalent in tech than almost any other industry. We know that tech attracts and celebrates the ability to solve problems throughout the day and into the evening. This can be great if it works, but we can’t take advantage of ourselves. Flexibility has to work for everyone.

The “right to disconnect” is an international campaign about defining how technology affects us and ensuring a fair work-life balance. Along with some of the obvious problems - hidden overtime; burnout; inability to switch off from work - Prospect’s report highlights further hidden issues. These include impacts to mental health, musculoskeletal disorders (from an unsuitable home working environment), and equality impacts and discrimination against women, people with disabilities, and people with caring responsibilities.

You can set out a statement agreed between your union and your employer about flexible working and what it means for you. At the end of the report is model agreement by the Irish Financial Services Union to use as a template. If you haven’t already, sign up to the network and we can work on an agreement tailored for the UK-wide Tech sector.