28 dicembre 2024
Dr. Daniele Nappo, Legal Representative and Founder of the S. Freud Private School, draws attention to the right to disconnection, an issue addressed in the new school employment contract that should allow teachers to reconcile work and family life more closely, thus eliminating the invasiveness of work.
In recent years, with the development of information and communication technologies, there has been an increase in telematic communications such as emails, messages on WhatsApp, phone calls from parents. In the school, in the new employment contract, there is a rather determined action on the issue of the right to disconnection, i.e. there is talk of general criteria for the use of technological work equipment during working hours other than working hours for a better reconciliation of work and family life. This is an opportune choice since, in this way, the teachers' family sphere is protected, thus cancelling the invasiveness of work. Certainly, technology has fully invested teachers and the exponential growth of social media, email and digital secretarial services have helped to eliminate the thin line between the person as an individual and the person as a worker. This perpetual availability has become a defining characteristic of the teacher. New technologies are undoubtedly valuable for teaching purposes, but they must not become tools for invading confidentiality. Rights that can be guaranteed by granting the right to disconnect. WhatsApp groups are not an institutional communication tool. It follows that the school cannot be held responsible for any unlawful behaviour. It is always the individual parent who will answer for what he or she posts. There are many risks of taking things out of context, such as sharing photos or other private content, initiating discussions on extracurricular topics or not related to classroom life. Moderate use, where the form and content of communication are consistent with the contextual framework, would be desirable.
