Many employees report being unable to switch off from work outside office hours.
A full IELTS Writing Task 2 answer to this question, with a paragraph plan, ideas you can use, and the vocabulary that fits this topic.
The question
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Many employees report being unable to switch off from work outside office hours.
What problems does this create, and how can these problems be solved?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
How to read this question
The weak version of this essay blames phones. The stronger one notices that the technology only removed the friction — what actually keeps people working is that responsiveness is rewarded and unavailability is quietly penalised, so nobody can opt out individually. That reframing explains why advice to "set boundaries" fails and points directly at solutions that operate at the level of the organisation.
Paragraph plan
Introduction — Paraphrase, then signpost: the problems are health deterioration and a collective action trap; the solutions must be organisational because individual boundaries are unenforceable.
Body 1 — Problems — recovery time is a biological requirement not a preference, and the norm punishes anyone who unilaterally disconnects.
Body 2 — Solutions — legal right to disconnect, delayed message delivery by default, and managers judged on output rather than responsiveness.
Conclusion — Because no individual can solve a norm, the remedy has to be a rule.
Model essay
Band 8.5–9.0 model essay
325 words
A considerable proportion of employees find it increasingly difficult to disconnect from work once they leave the office. Nonetheless, a number of measures could help resolve this growing problem.
The foremost consequence of this constant connectivity is a marked deterioration in employees' mental health. To clarify, when workers remain reachable via email or messaging applications throughout the evening and weekends, they are denied the psychological recovery time necessary to recharge, which gradually leads to chronic stress and, in severe cases, burnout. This, in turn, diminishes productivity during actual working hours, as fatigued employees struggle to concentrate and make sound decisions, occasionally resulting in costly professional mistakes. Furthermore, the inability to switch off frequently strains personal relationships, since partners and children receive diminished attention from individuals who remain mentally preoccupied with unfinished work tasks even during supposedly dedicated family time. Over an extended period, employees subjected to this pressure are also more likely to seek new employment, increasing costly staff turnover for the organisations involved.
To resolve this problem, companies should establish clear policies that discourage managers from contacting staff outside agreed working hours, except in genuine emergencies. Several countries have already introduced a legal "right to disconnect", which prohibits employers from penalising employees who ignore work communications after hours, and similar legislation could be adopted more widely across other industries. In addition, organisations could restrict access to internal email servers during non-working hours, physically preventing this culture of round-the-clock availability. Employers should also actively promote a culture in which taking annual leave without checking messages is normalised rather than viewed as a sign of insufficient commitment. Managers themselves should be trained to recognise the long-term costs of an always-on culture, rather than treating constant availability as a mark of dedication.
In conclusion, the pressure to remain constantly available for work damages both mental health and personal relationships, yet clear disconnection policies, legal protections and a genuine shift in workplace culture could substantially alleviate this issue.
Created by a Band 8.5–9.0 IELTS Writing achiever — Premium. Sign up free to read the rest of this essay and unlock every model on the site.
This is a problem and solution question. The essay above shows you what a strong answer looks like when it is finished. What it cannot show you is how to get there from a blank page in forty minutes.
That is what our Writing Study Library is for: the structure we teach for this exact question type, the paragraph pattern that goes with it, and the sentence openers for each stage — so the essay is planned before you start writing rather than assembled as you go.
Introduction: Introduction — paraphrase that many employees cannot disconnect from work outside office hours, and note that measures could resolve this.
Body 1: Body 1 — explain the problems: constant connectivity denies workers psychological recovery time, causing chronic stress and burnout, reducing productivity, and straining personal relationships as attention stays on unfinished tasks.
Body 2: Body 2 — explain the solutions: companies should adopt clear after-hours contact policies or a legal 'right to disconnect', restrict email server access outside working hours, and promote a culture where taking leave without checking messages is normal.
Conclusion: Conclusion — briefly summarise that always-on work culture damages mental health and relationships, but disconnection policies and cultural change could substantially help.
Word or phrase
Meaning
Used in a sentence
constant connectivity
being continuously reachable through phone, email or messaging
The foremost consequence of this constant connectivity is a marked deterioration in employees' mental health.
psychological recovery time
time needed to mentally rest and recharge
they are denied the psychological recovery time necessary to recharge.
chronic stress
long-term, ongoing stress that does not resolve
which gradually leads to chronic stress and, in severe cases, burnout.
burnout
a state of physical and emotional exhaustion from prolonged stress
which gradually leads to chronic stress and, in severe cases, burnout.
right to disconnect
a legal protection allowing employees to ignore work contact after hours
Several countries have already introduced a legal "right to disconnect".
round-the-clock availability
being reachable at all times, day and night
organisations could restrict access to internal email servers during non-working hours, physically preventing this culture of round-the-clock availability.
annual leave
paid time off work granted each year
promote a culture in which taking annual leave without checking messages is normalised.
workplace culture
the shared attitudes and norms within an organisation
a genuine shift in workplace culture could substantially alleviate this issue.
Created by a Band 8.5–9.0 IELTS Writing achiever — Premium. Sign up free to see the ideas and vocabulary for this topic and unlock every model on the site.
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Common questions
Why is diagnosing the cause so important on this question type?
Because the solutions have to follow from it. If you say the cause is phones, your solutions will be about phones and will not work. Identifying that the cause is a norm nobody can exit individually makes rules and management practice the obvious remedies — and the examiner can see the logic connecting the halves.
Can I say that common advice does not work?
Yes, provided you explain why and then offer something better. "Set boundaries" fails because the individual who follows it absorbs a career cost — that is analysis, and it is exactly what lifts Task Response above listing.
Should solutions be governmental or organisational?
Either, and a mix is often strongest. What matters is that each one names the specific failure it removes. A law that changes the default and a management practice that changes what is rewarded are addressing different parts of the same problem, and saying so makes the essay cohere.
