A Law To Ban Emails After Work

A new law in France proposes banning emails from your employer after work. The law is called “right to disconnect.”

Not so long ago, when the world wide web didn’t exist, we were certain that when we leave work, we are finally free. Nobody worried about an email to receive or a call to attend. Nevertheless, when the world got exposed to the internet, ruining a weekend became awfully easy. The new French law will make it illegal to email employees after work.

France is famous for their employee treatment. They have 16 weeks of full paid family leave and 30 days off a year. A luxury, not every American can experience these days. If you have a company of more than 50 employees, you will not be able to email your employees after the set working hours. “All the studies show there is far more work-related stress today than there used to be, and that the stress is constant,” Benoit Hamon of the French National Assembly told the BBC. Employees physically leave the office, but they do not leave their work. They remain attached by a kind of electronic leash— like a dog. The texts, the messages, the emails — they colonize the life of the individual to the point where he or she eventually breaks down.” This new law will allow people to enjoy their off hours to the fullest, meanwhile making them more and more productive. Companies that take advantage of their employees and invade their private lives while they are not at work will now have to limit their intrusion. The companies have to establish “charters of good conduct” and specify the time when their employees can fully enjoy their off time. The “right to disconnect” was passed as a part of a French labor law and has been viewed as highly favorable by the French.

It is highly difficult to distance yourself from your work duties even if you are out by the beach, having fun with family and friends.
Should we have a law like this and try to disconnect?

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One Comment

1. 

   Armen Margarian

   May 31, 2016 at 2:52 pm

   I think this in one of those cases where a lawsuit just wastes government recourses… Why is the employee checking work email after hours?

   I send emails to employees at 9:30pm… which are to be read in the morning, when they are back at the office.

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