Can the 'Right to Disconnect' bill counter chronic burnout in India's always-on work culture?

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Last week, Supriya Sule, member of Parliament from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), introduced a private members’ bill in the Lok Sabha which ignited a heated discussion online. Typically, such bills are low on the pecking order, summarily discussed and dismissed in most instances, but the Right to Disconnect Bill 2025 touched a nerve among a range of stakeholders.

Sule, who had tabled a similar bill in 2018, reiterates and adds to its demand that employees be granted the legal right to refrain from answering work-related emails and phone calls when they are off duty without any fear of consequences. Recently, Kerala government introduced a similar private members’ bill, drawing on the provisions enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution (Right to Life and Dignity), Articles 38, 39 and 43 of the Directive Principles of state policy, along with protections against overreach as defined in existing labour laws. Both bills argue that the right to disconnect would improve employee engagement by reducing burnout.

According to an article published in the Indian Journal of Psychiatry last year, 60% Indians face burnout at work. Earlier this year, the findings of another survey said that 72% of employees in India’s IT sector work over 70 hours instead of the 48-hour work week limit. None of this is news to anyone familiar with the unspoken rules of India Inc, where an always-on culture affect everyone, from interns to tenured leaders.

In theory, a Right to Disconnect Act would not only bring humane policies into the workplace but also improve business outcomes. Rested workers are likely to be more engaged and productive. They are less prone to making errors that may cost the company in