Workers’ right to digital disconnection

Abstract

Technological advances, despite representing great benefits for society, have negative aspects such as hyperconnectivity, affecting the different areas in which people develop, including working life. As a result of this digitalization problem, the need arises for countries to regulate labor relations, specifically, the right of workers to have free spaces for their integral development. The intention of this academic article is to analyze the concept of the right to digital disconnection of workers, its scope, rights related to it and its regulation today in Costa Rica. Being a relatively new concept, Costa Rican case law have not developed the topic itself, however, the concept will be explained based on doctrine. For the exhaustive analysis of this right of the workers, the general aspects of the labor relations in the country will be studied; the effects that hyperconnectivity has on the health of workers will be
exposed, as well as the aspects related to the disconnection such as the extra hours and the figure of worker›s availability. And finally, the regulation of this right in France, which was one of the pioneer countries in creating legislation on this issue, Spain and Colombia will be explained by way of comparative law; to confront and take as a reference some measures that could be implemented in the country in the future.