By Erick Here’s the thing – in my career, I’ve had good bosses. Bosses who treat me like a human, respect my personal time and take note of when I put a minute extra for the company. I also realize how lucky I’ve been, and acknowledge the sad state of work life balance in India.
Let’s talk more about this.
What is the Right to Disconnect Bill?
MP Supriya Sule introduced the Right to Disconnect Bill in the Lok Sabha on December 5, 2025. The bill is simple in its aim. It wants to give employees the legal right to ignore work calls, emails, and messages after office hours.
No penalties. No repercussions. Just the basic freedom to disconnect.
The bill proposes clear protections. Employees who refuse to respond outside working hours cannot be fired, demoted, or punished. Companies would need to create policies defining when employees can be contacted. And if organizations violate these rules? They’d face fines equal to 1% of their total employee remuneration.
An Employees’ Welfare Authority would oversee implementation and handle complaints.
The Harsh Reality: This Bill Won’t Pass
Here’s the uncomfortable truth. This bill will almost certainly die in Parliament.
It’s a private member’s bill. These bills are introduced by MPs who aren’t ministers. And they almost never become law in India.
How rare are we talking? Since 1952, only 14 private member’s bills have passed. The last successful one was in 1968. That’s over 57 years ago.
Supriya Sule knows this. She’s tried before. She introduced similar bills in 2018 and 2021. Both lapsed without passing.
The bill hasn’t even been debated yet. It sits pending in the Lok Sabha, likely to face the same fate as its predecessors.
Why This Matters More Than the Bill Itself
The real story isn’t about parliamentary procedure. It’s about what this bill represents.
We’ve reached a point where Indian employees need legislation to protect their personal time. Think about that. The right to not work after work hours requires a law.
This should be obvious. This should be basic human dignity. But somewhere along the way, we normalized the invasion of personal time.
The Work-Life Balance Crisis in India
Indian workplaces have a problem. The lines between office and home have completely blurred.
Late-night calls have become routine. Weekend emails are expected. Bosses message at midnight and expect responses. The culture of “always available” has taken over.
The pandemic made it worse. Remote work meant your bedroom became your office. Your dining table turned into a desk. And suddenly, there was no escape from work.
Employees report constant stress. Burnout is rising. Mental health is suffering. Yet the hamster wheel keeps spinning.
A Sad Commentary on Our Values
It’s heartbreaking that we need a bill for this. Really think about what that says about us as a society.
We’ve created a work culture so toxic that Parliament needs to intervene. Basic respect for personal time isn’t the default—it’s something we have to fight for legally.
Other countries have figured this out. France passed a right to disconnect law in 2017. Portugal, Spain, and Belgium have similar protections. Australia recently introduced legislation too.
But in India? We’re still debating whether employees deserve a life outside work.
The Bigger Question
This bill forces us to confront uncomfortable questions. When did we decide that productivity matters more than people? When did being overworked become a badge of honor? When did “hustle culture” turn into exploitation?
The Right to Disconnect Bill might not pass. But the conversation it’s sparked matters. It’s forcing companies and employees to examine the toxic norms we’ve accepted.
What Needs to Change
We shouldn’t need a law to treat people with basic dignity. Companies should respect boundaries because it’s the right thing to do. Not because they’re legally required to.
Progressive organizations are already doing this. They’re setting clear expectations about after-hours contact. They’re modeling healthy work habits from the top. They’re measuring success by outcomes, not by who responds fastest at 11 PM.
But these are exceptions. Too many workplaces still operate on outdated models of control and constant availability.
The Path Forward
Even if this bill fails, the fight continues. Employees are waking up. They’re setting boundaries. They’re refusing to sacrifice their mental health for their jobs.
The younger generation especially isn’t buying into toxic work culture. They’re demanding better. And eventually, companies will have to listen.
Because here’s the truth: A rested employee is a productive employee. A burned-out worker helps no one.
The Right to Disconnect Bill represents more than legislation. It’s a symbol of a larger movement. A push for dignity, respect, and the basic human right to have a life outside of work.
We shouldn’t need a bill for this. But since we apparently do, we should be having this conversation loudly and often.
Until basic respect becomes the norm, not the exception, bills like this will keep being introduced. And they’ll keep reminding us how far we still have to go.
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