Following this, speaking on an episode of the Lawyers Weekly Show, produced in partnership with the College of Law, Florence Thum recently discussed the right to disconnect and some of the new communication strategies that legal businesses and firms must implement in order to better manage their realignment with the new legislative landscape.

Thum is a lecturer and assistant director in NSW for PLT at the College of Law. She’s also a psychotherapist and coach – and was previously a litigator for 20 years. The new Right to Disconnect laws, she explained, are of particular interest to her both personally and professionally.

“There seems to be a collective empathy for what is happening with that high connectivity, as well as the need to balance personal and professional spaces. But the law potentially can be a minefield from an operations perspective. For me, I see it as coming from an appropriate boundary-setting exercise. So therefore, part of that is, of course, communication in the context of where I work and the conversations I’ve had. What has happened is often the case, as with two decades ago, when conversations around wellbeing began,” she said.

“There are pressing changes to how legal workplaces operate, particularly occasioned by rapid technological advances. So, we need to be open to the possibility that historical models of managing or leading established systems and norms and the ideals which inform them may no longer benefit the workplace now or emerging workplaces, that it’s going to be different and the people involved in it.”

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This has resulted in a need to go “back to basics”, according to Thum, who said that having meaningful, transparent communication was key when chatting about new laws and expectations.

“Looking at it from a human-centred perspective, these laws are meant to protect staff and human beings. Then we come back to basics and look at communication between human beings, to meet each other as people first. And in a way, if this statement is anxiety provoking, it’s probably a good thing because it ought to be a catalyst to revise how workplaces operate,” she said.

“Stepping back, big-picture back to basics requires us to reconsider where our focus lay, what our priorities are. And this is against that background of sophisticated tech use, high dissemination of information, Gen X expectations and beyond the now established acceptance of the importance of workplace wellbeing, increased conversations on DEI, to name a few.

“This human-centred approach is shifting the lens firstly from whether a person, a system, a set of rules, is causing harm, and therefore we prevent that to asking what good we can do, what would support a person to thrive in their professional lives, which, in turn, meets the organisation’s business objectives.”

In terms of how lawyers and employees on the ground can best advocate for themselves in the context of the new laws, Thum said that being responsive and compassionate is key.

“When I talk about communication, it is not just informing our information; it is not passive reception of things. Communication requires active engagement with each other and with the message being conveyed. It involves a whole lot of listening and observing. And we like to be able to measure it in terms of meeting each other halfway. But sometimes, halfway is not halfway; it is more on one end of the spectrum to the other, depending on what is needed,” she said.

“In terms of what an individual lawyer can do to advocate for themselves, they need to know what you know, what you value and need. We need to engage, but before we speak, observe what is being done. Notwithstanding the spoken or written word, the best way to know another’s true beliefs and values, or an organisation’s values and vision, is to actually observe the behaviours of its leaders and the actions and things being done, and then getting an understanding of the context. So true listening requires us to hold off judgement and choosing to understand with empathy.

“It suggests giving people the benefit of the doubt. So, approach with curiosity, get a sense of how you feel once you’ve done that, and then in your conversation, convey your needs and make specific and positive requests for what you would like someone to do to meet your needs, instead of instinctively reacting to a situation with blame and negativity and focusing on what you want to create an experience or would like to see happen, as opposed to what you want to prevent or stop.”

Moreover, this also requires somewhat of a mindset shift from the organisation and, in some circumstances, a change in culture.

“Change is an important aspect of this compliance, because it is about people, and in turn, it actually will impact on the risk or potential conflict in an organisation. When the log comes in, one of the key things we need to do is assess and manage risk. So, consultation with stakeholders, with different teams, because different areas of practice will have different needs and also work norms,” Thum said.

“So, inviting your teams or requesting your teams to review and set norms, not rules. Having your leaders review workloads, manage time, [and] improve delegation skills because this all leads towards what is then this right to disconnect.”

The transcript of this podcast episode was slightly edited for publishing purposes. To listen to the full conversation with Florence Thum, click below: