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Good Move: France Considers Law Making Weekend Work Emails Illegal

27 May 2016 7:46 AM GMT

In a hugely interconnected world, work never leaves the employee and vice versa. People tend to carry their work into their homes beyond the stipulated working hours and also eat into their weekends. France intends to put an end to all this by enacting a reform bill that will make it illegal to send mail beyond the working hours. How such a bill will be enforced remains a subject of intense discussion, however, the Prime Minister is confident of implementing the bill in its true spirit. The amendment will be introduced to a French reform bill that was recently made a law on May 10

The much needed reform

The French labor reform bill is for companies that have 50 or more employees. What the bill gives to the workers is the “right to disconnect”.

“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.

The harmful culture of overwork

The culture of continuing work at home is wide among the workers in the IT industry. Article 25 of the bill says ““The development of information and communication technologies, if badly managed or regulated, can have an impact on the health of workers,”. As the article rightly suggest, health of workers has taken a back seat due to the excessive work.

Time for India?

The culture of competition and the need to do be more productive has pushed many firms to the limits of their capacity, often resulting in work-life imbalance and deterioration of health.

The Logical Indian appreciates the initiative that will give a welcome breather for workers and also believes sooner than later India should come up with a similar law if not the same, as many employees of the IT industry in India also seem to be carrying their work along everywhere. Balance in work and life is paramount importance for sustainable living and efficient working, it is a matter of time before we realize that.

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Editor : The Logical Indian

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