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There are very few things that could make me want to move out of the good ol’ US of A. But there’s a proposed law in France that could have me relocating to Paris ASAP.
The new law would give employees the “right to disconnect” during the hours they are not at work or on vacation. If passed, the law would go into effect in 2018 and would require companies to urge their employees to turn off phones and other devices when they are off the clock.
While other laws recently passed in the country do not favor the worker (in fact, recent legislation that allows overtime caused protests), this particular law is aimed at improving the mental health of employees. According to USAToday, a study by risk analysis firm Technologia found that 3.2 million workers in France were emotionally drained from work and at risk of developing burnout symptoms like exhaustion and chronic stress.
“It is a real problem,” said Yves Lasfargue, a sociologist who specializes in teleworking, told the paper. “Twenty years ago, before emails had been invented and we could not reach colleagues, we would have to go and knock on their doors. Traditional courtesy teaches you to abstain from disturbing people. With these new tools, this form of courtesy has totally disappeared. This is why we need to legislate.”
One person that doesn’t understand that “traditional courtesy”? My boss. Let me see if I understand this right – if I move to France, he can’t email me on Saturday at 2:47 p.m. demanding that I resend him the quarter-end report that’s already in his inbox but he’s too lazy to search for? Sold. If you need me, I’ll be brushing up on my Francois. How do you say “I’m taking a vacation day” in French? .
[Via USAToday]
Image via Shutterstock
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Jenna Crowley
Jenna used to be known as 2NOTBrokeGirls, but then one of the girls actually went broke, so she's struck out on her own. Jenna spends her free time saving the world, one sorority girl at a time (usually while wearing yoga pants), questioning why she decided to get a doctorate, documenting her love of all things cheese related, and hosting the new PGP podcast Don't Take It From Us. You can ask her anything you want about football, using your boobs to get what you want, and pizza at @JennaLCrowley on Twitter or via email at JennaLCrowley@gmail.com.
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Dave is always texting me outside of work asking me to hang out, would love to be able to have an excuse not to answer him.
I’m not sure “Let’s get drunk at Whole Foods” is the kind of intrusive communication we’re talking about here.
dave’s a bum. grow a pair and ignore him. don’t rely on some law to give you a reason to ignore him.
“I don’t understand satire.” That’s you.
Telling my boss I did not in fact want a work blackberry (for my convenience) is probably the best decision I’ve ever made.
I don’t have work emails come to my phone. Work is done when I leave at 5 unless during busy season.
(Awaits for downvotes)
I wish I could get away with this in my busy season. It sucks to be dependable.
Like most legislation this starts out well intended, however there are always circumstances that warrant an after hours email. For example “The CEO of Enron was just indited for fraud, liquidate all holdings immediately and notify all shareholders” is the type of email that probably shouldn’t wait until you get around to it the next day.
Mom worked for Enron. R.I.P. 401k.
This sounds great in theory, but let’s not forget that France is also in a perpetual state of economic crisis.
No after hours emails = more time for brunch
Brush up on your Francais not Francois haha
I don’t know if vacation days are a thing because in France you get at least five weeks of vacation. It’s an actual law. It’s annoying because organized strikes are considered a “right” there, so if you need to take a train from Cannes to Cinque Terre on the one weekend you are allowed to travel on your own during your abroad program in the South of France, too bad! All of the train stations from Montpellier to Nice are planning to strike that weekend, so there won’t be any trains. Oh well, I guess I’ll go to Sanremo for the day instead. True story.
Switch your IPhone emails to “Pull” instead of “Push”. That way, you check in if you know if something important is on the horizon, but if not, it can wait until Monday / the next day.
I’m still not over that brunch article. For all we know, you’re actually pro after hours work email but will keep up this charade that you actually hate them for a couple years before admitting to the lie.
I’ll be breaking the fuck out of this law if it makes its way to the US