working life Goodbye H


ow will government consideration for the right to disconnect from work affect journalists?


Will it stop news editors contacting


staff at all hours, such as when the nationals start dropping late in the evening? Will it halt the endless emails from PRs checking a press release has arrived and will be written up? Will the government’s own press officers send out information or call journalists only during office hours? The answer to all those questions is almost certainly no. Mobile phones, emails, WhatsApp and X have made it almost impossible to switch off or not be contacted. Nonetheless, a new right, which was referred to in the Employment Bill, might make journalists and PRs start to think more about working hours and is definitely a good idea. As reporters, we are programmed to


write stories at any time of the day, especially if it’s breaking news. For more than two years, I’ve covered


the wave of strikes involving workers ranging from nurses and doctors to barristers – and journalists. With so few national journalists covering unions (fairly), I’ve been passionate about trying to explain why workers have been taking industrial action to counter some of the many negative articles and comments that appear in sections of our press. That has meant speaking to union


officials and press officers at all times of the day and at weekends. I’m not


08 | theJournalist


24/7?


A right to switch off from work would have little effect on journalists, says Alan Jones


going to ignore a call from the RMT’s Mick Lynch explaining why more rail strikes have been called. “Sorry Mick, I clocked off at 5pm so I’ll get back to you tomorrow,” is something I wouldn’t dream of saying. So, while I’ve been keen to report on


the strikes and other union stories, I am now owed scores of days off. A colleague said we live for breaking


news and the thrill of hearing our stories read out on the radio or TV – and that doesn’t work around a 9-5 pattern. “The best we can hope for is a flexible


employer who recognises the work we often do outside work hours and rewards us with understanding and flexibility on the days when that isn’t necessary,” she said. But what if extra work isn’t recognised and we’re just expected to write and follow up stories in the crazy 24-hour news world we work in? The right not to be contacted outside


office hours is in place in some European countries. The Autonomy think tank has called for the government to copy legislation from France and Portugal that includes financial penalties for employers that choose to ignore the policy. In France, the highest court has fined employers for ignoring the legislation. The government would also have to


change the way it manages news. Whitehall departments routinely send out press releases after normal work hours and at weekends. WhatsApp, text, email, socials and


voicemails are among the multiple ways in which journalists are contacted, quite apart from listening to


“


the news or checking news websites. In the autumn, I had a gruelling


The newsdesk doesn’t have any concept of the hours we work so will just contact us as and when they need to


couple of weeks covering the TUC and Labour conferences, working 18-hour days but loving the thrill of being at the centre of the day’s top news stories. I asked several national newspaper


journalists about how a new right to switch off would affect them and the replies were the same – it won’t. “The newsdesk doesn’t have any concept of the hours we work so will just contact us as and when they need to,” was one response. Working for a 24/7 agency makes it


especially difficult to switch off. I’m often asked by PRs what my deadline is, and my usual response is: “Every minute is a deadline – oops, I’ve just missed one.” My colleague told me she’s become


strict at organising her time as well as logging days off because, if you don’t, it’s easy to slip into working endlessly. The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health published a report recently warning the UK was witnessing an ‘epidemic’ of long working hours, with many workers putting in two or more additional hours without pay every week and checking work emails and messages at evenings, weekends and, sometimes, when on holiday. Journalism is a hugely popular profession, with large numbers of youngsters taking up training. Hopefully, this will now include the importance of switching off.


Alan Jones is PA Media’s industrial correspondent


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