'Right to disconnect' becomes law in France

The perennial pursuit of work-life balance just got easier in France, with a new law coming into effect guaranteeing workers the 'right to disconnect' after hours or during vacations.

The new employment law will require organisations with more than 50 employees to negotiate with employees over a policy defining the right to ignore their smartphones when responding to emails would intrude on family and relationship time.

It marks an attempt by the French Government to tackle the 'always on' work culture that has been blamed for a surge in unpaid overtime, as well as sleep issues and relationship problems.

When introducing the law last year, France's labour minister said the boundary between professional and personal lives is becoming more tenuous, and the expectation to be always on has been contributing to burnout among professionals.

According to reports, some consultants are recommending approaches including setting a time after which workers are not expected to reply to any emails sent, such as the 12 hours between 7 pm and 7 am.

Other recommendations include avoiding the use of the 'reply all' function, so that only one employee is expected to respond to an email.

But consultants have also cautioned that the policies should not interfere with employees' desires to work flexible hours and outside of the office if they so choose.

Image courtesy of Elliott Brown under CC