You cannot not connect! Hyper-connectivity as a sign of employee engagement and exercising the right to disconnect as a sign of disengagement: a new double-bind

In the new world of work, employees are expected to be agile, flexible, always connected and responsive. They use mobile devices to work anywhere and anytime to get the work done. Hyper-connectivity which refers to the use of multiple means of communication, such as email, instant messaging, and telephone has grave consequences on the health and daily life such as stress, burn-out, and work-family conflict. The right to disconnect is introduced as a measure against negative consequences of connectivity, but it in practice it seems to be a chimera. You cannot not connect. Exercising the right to disconnect will be interpreted by superiors as being unwilling to work hard, being disengaged and will have consequences for the job security and career advancement. Thus, the employees are caught in a double-bind: either they are hyperconnected and stressed or they exercise their right to disconnect and lose promotion or in the worst case their jobs. In a recent doctoral research on the ICT worker burnout in France and Norway, hyper-connectivity was identified as a source of stress and burnout. However, the employees felt obliged to continue working after normal office hours because not only they were economically vulnerable and afraid of job loss but also they were highly engaged, self-disciplined,had perfectionist tendencies and lacked assertiveness.