Locating employees is a much-needed task in a variety of work environments. However, the issue brings with it a debate on the right to technological disconnection. In other words, the recognition that the employee cannot be permanently located by the company.

What is technological disconnection and how does it affect us at work and in our personal lives?

The issue of technological disconnection has returned at the hands of the president of the Porsche Works Council. The subsidiary of the German Volkswagen group has reopened the issue. It is requesting that the employee be entitled to technological disconnection at the end of the working day.

Constant employee localization

So far, Spanish and German laws have not regulated the possibility of locating employees even outside working hours. In the case of France, the technological disconnection of the employee is recognized in what would be our Workers’ Statute.

Stress and lack of productivity

There is a lack of legislation so that, just as employees can be located, workers are allowed to maintain their privacy and cease to be at the service of the company after their working day.

According to studies, most employees continue to work after their shift is over. A simple example is reflected in the number of work emails that employees answer from home or in their leisure time. In addition to this situation, some employers misuse the employee locator option. These useful apps turn against employees. They feel continuously stalked and hooked to work. Always at the boss’s beck and call. Scientists have already determined that workers subjected to this stress, develop a picture of ill health symptoms, known as Burnout Syndrome . The employee gets sick and becomes less productive. The issue is so serious that, in Spain, companies such as Axa are already encouraging their employees to disconnect from technology. Although official regulation still seems a long way off. Bixpe encourages its users to use employee tracking and monitoring apps responsibly and with full respect for the staff’s working hours.