The Off Switch is a simple card and app that helps your people switch off from work apps when they’re meant to be off (and protect deep work when they’re meant to be on) without cutting them off from what’s genuinely urgent.
On this page, you’ll see how it works for teams, example routines you can roll out, and what leaders normally notice after a pilot.
The Off Switch
× Workplaces
What you’re trying to do
If this sounds like you, you’re in the right place.
1. Reduce burnout, stress-related absence, and the quiet churn that comes from an always-on culture.
2. Show you take work–life boundaries and right-to-disconnect seriously, not just in policy documents.
3. Protect focus time so people can do actual work, not just chase notifications.
4. Give managers and teams something practical to point to when they talk about boundaries.
5. Offer a wellbeing initiative that feels concrete and respectful, not gimmicky or preachy.
Where it starts to go wrong
None of this is about weak people. It’s about strong incentives for constant connection with very little friction.
1. Work apps live on personal phones. Messages arrive at any hour, and people feel pressure to respond quickly to look committed.
2. After-hours smartphone use for work is strongly associated with work–life conflict and lower job satisfaction, which in turn predicts burnout and turnover.
3. Notifications fragment the working day into tiny chunks of attention, dragging down focus and performance and raising strain.
4. Policies and emails about “please switch off” exist, but habits and culture don’t change. People still get late-night messages and feel they can’t use their right to disconnect without career risk.
5. Remote and hybrid work makes it harder to see when someone is genuinely off vs just “working flexibly,” so expectations quietly creep up.
How The Off Switch helps
Why it makes sense
The Off Switch gives you a concrete tool that supports the same goals as right-to-disconnect policies: reasonable boundaries, less unpaid overtime, and better recovery. By reducing after-hours work on smartphones, you chip away at a well-documented driver of work-life conflict, burnout, and turnover intentions. Reducing notification-driven interruptions has been shown to help performance and reduce strain, and the product is designed to do exactly that in a controlled, opt-in way. Digital wellbeing interventions in workplace settings are increasingly showing positive effects on stress, anxiety, and overall wellbeing, especially for high-stress groups.
How it fits into your day
You roll it out as a small pilot: for example, one business unit, a remote team, or a group at higher risk of burnout. Staff set up one or two modes (End of day, Deep work, Off-duty) and choose which work apps go quiet while keeping routes open for real emergencies. To switch Off, they tap their phone on their Off Switch card. No fiddling with multiple modes every time. It’s one clear physical action. To switch back On, they tap again, making “I’m coming back online” a conscious choice rather than an automatic reflex. Cards live where behaviour decisions happen: on desks, near docking stations, by the front door at home, or next to a shared team device. IT and security aren’t bypassed since the product sits alongside your existing mobile policies and device management rather than replacing them. You’re changing when people use work apps, not how your systems are secured.
How it feels over time
People feel more confident that they’re allowed to switch off because there’s a visible ritual and organisational story behind it, not just a slide in induction. Managers have a simple behaviour to model: tap Off at the end of the day and don’t message people whose status is clearly Off. Teams report less “ping fatigue” and more stretches of quiet to do real work. Over time, staff describe sleep and mood improving when after-hours connectivity is dialled down, exactly the things the recovery literature says you need to avoid long-term burnout.
Routines that work well for workplaces
End-of-day tap
When: The last 10–15 minutes of the working day.
Apps off: Work email, Teams/Slack, project tools, CRM, work social accounts.
What stays on: Personal messaging, calls, calendar (for tomorrow), and anything needed for commuting or caring responsibilities.
How it helps: Turns “I’ve finished work” from a vague feeling into a visible action. It supports psychological detachment from work, which is linked to higher wellbeing and better next-day performance.
Morning deep-work block
When: A pre-agreed 60–90 minute block in the morning, a few times a week.
Apps off: Non-urgent email, chat, social media, internal social platforms.
What stays on: Core tools for the task at hand, calendar (for hard meetings), and critical incident channels if needed.
How it helps: Creates quiet space for thinking work in a world where most people say messaging tools now harm their ability to focus.
Protected lunch
When: Main meal break in the day, even if the exact time moves.
Apps off: Everything non-essential.
What stays on: Personal communications, health and movement apps, music.
How it helps: Builds in real recovery time. Better breaks are a core component of any burnout-prevention strategy and improve afternoon performance.
Off-duty evenings pilot
When: Evenings after a chosen time (e.g. 7pm–7am) for the pilot group.
Apps off: All work-related apps and channels, except one clearly agreed route for genuine emergencies.
What stays on: Everything personal.
How it helps: Makes your right-to-disconnect expectations tangible: “After 7pm, work apps are Off by default.” In countries where right-to-disconnect is a live topic, this shows you are ahead of the curve culturally, not just legally.
Common questions
Will this make people unreachable in emergencies?
No. You can keep specific channels open for genuine emergencies while everything else is quiet. The point isn’t to cut off critical communication, but to stop default, low-stakes messages from spilling into people’s evenings and weekends.
We already have a right-to-disconnect policy. Why do we need a product?
Policies are necessary, but not sufficient. Many workers in right-to-disconnect environments still receive after-hours messages and feel unable to enforce their rights.
The Off Switch gives people a simple, shared behaviour that embodies the policy: “I tap Off, and my work apps fall quiet.”
Does this hurt productivity?
Evidence suggests the opposite. Constant interruptions and expectation of after-hours responsiveness are linked with higher stress, more errors, and lower sustained performance, while reducing notification interruptions and after-hours work supports productivity and wellbeing.
The Off Switch is designed to protect high-value focus time and real rest, which is where sustained productivity comes from.
We’re global and work across time zones. Is this realistic?
Yes, because the Off Switch is about clarity, not rigid 9–5 rules. Teams can agree norms like:
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“Out-of-hours messages are for handovers, not for expecting replies.”
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“Use scheduled send where possible.”
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“When someone’s Off Switch is on, assume they’ll respond in their next working block.”
The card and app just give people a visible status and a personal tool to hold those agreements.
How does this fit with BYOD and cybersecurity?
The Off Switch doesn’t weaken your existing controls. It works alongside device management and security tools by changing when people engage with work apps, not what data those apps can access. Reducing unnecessary app use and constant connectivity can also dial down technostress and some of the risks that come with overloaded, always-on devices.