In 2025, a network calling itself Right to Disconnect Now (RDN) forms after a series of media reports about unpaid overtime and constant after-hours messaging in professional workplaces. RDN begins as a loose online community sharing screenshots of after-hours messages and personal accounts. Within months, RDN coordinates a national week of action: members email template letters to employers, stage lunchtime “log-off” gatherings outside major office towers, and encourage workers to collectively stop responding to messages after 6 pm. Some unions publicly endorse RDN’s aims but criticise its tactics as risky for casual workers; several employer groups label RDN “anti-productivity” and run a counter-campaign promoting “flexibility culture”.
Eighteen months later, three outcomes are visible:
- A state government introduces a voluntary “after-hours contact” guideline for public sector workplaces.
- Many workplaces introduce informal norms (e.g. delayed email sending), but enforcement is inconsistent.
- Public debate shifts: major news outlets increasingly describe after-hours contact as a wellbeing and gender equity issue.
A student claims: “RDN has clearly achieved social change because it exists as a social movement and got attention.”
a. Distinguish between the concepts of social movement and social change by applying each concept to the RDN scenario.
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Create Free Account Log inThis is a free VCE Units 3 & 4 Sociology practice question worth 4 marks, testing your understanding of Social movement and change concepts. It falls under Social movements and social change in Unit 4: Community, social movements and social change. Submit your answer above to receive instant AI-powered marking and personalised feedback.
In this unit, students explore the ways sociologists have thought about the idea of community and how various types of community are experienced. They examine the relationship between social movements and social change, including the nature, purpose, power, and outcomes of social movements.
Students investigate the sociological concept of power, the nature and purpose of social movements, types and stages of social movements, and how power is used by movements and their opposition. They evaluate the influence of social movements on social change, referencing Erica Chenoweth’s work, and analyse a specific social movement in detail.
the concepts of social movement and social change
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