New Zealand is not lagging in terms of the right to disconnect from work and employer surveillance. In fact, New Zealand was one of the first countries to introduce legislation to protect workers' rights in this area. The Employment Relations Act 2000 (ERA) includes a provision that employees have the right to refuse to work unreasonable overtime, and this provision has been interpreted by the courts to include the right to disconnect from work outside of normal working hours.

In addition, the Privacy Act 2020 imposes limits on the extent to which employers can monitor their employees' activities, and requires employers to be transparent about their surveillance practices. These laws provide workers with a strong degree of protection against employer surveillance and the expectation of being available for work outside of normal working hours.

However, there are some areas where New Zealand could do more to protect workers' rights in this area. For example, the ERA does not currently provide any specific protection against employer surveillance of employees' personal devices, such as smartphones and laptops. Additionally, the Privacy Act does not apply to employers with fewer than 20 employees, which means that a significant number of workers are not protected by its provisions.

Overall, New Zealand has a relatively strong legal framework in place to protect workers' rights to disconnect from work and employer surveillance. However, there are some areas where the law could be improved to provide even greater protection for workers.