Forum: Consider implementing a ‘right to disconnect’ for teachers in Singapore
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I refer to the article “ Long hours, huge stress and VIPs (very involved parents). So what keeps a teacher in S’pore going?
Beyond work-life balance, we must look towards respecting the work-life boundaries of our teachers.
Many teachers remain willing to help their students beyond their working hours.
However, we need to put in place policies to safeguard the rights of teachers, such as protecting them from unreasonable and incessant calls from “very involved parents”, and preventing the creation of a culture where teachers are frowned upon for not working after hours.
The Ministry of Education should consider implementing a policy whereby teachers have the “right to disconnect” after working hours.
The teaching profession would be well-suited to implement such a right in Singapore, and possibly incrementally in other professions and industries.
A “right to disconnect” strikes a balance between two competing factors in this issue: first, ensuring that teachers will not be abused through being compelled to go beyond their professional capacities; and second, ensuring that we respect the goodwill of teachers who want to go beyond their official hours in helping their students.
A pilot implementation of a policy of “right to disconnect” in the teaching profession will serve as an apt case study for its incremental implementation in other professions which have similar concerns about work-life balance, such as medical, dental, legal and accountancy.
Martin Liao
