Dive Brief:
- Workers in France are about to get a pass when it comes to reading work-related emails while off the clock, according to the UK's Daily Mail.
- The article says the French will soon enact a law that delivers to workers the "right to disconnect" from emails that arrive in their inboxes outside of "contracted" work hours.
- Labor Minister Myriam El Khomri told the Daily Mail that final details are being worked out, but the law will be in place within weeks. France already has a strict 35-hour work week, six weeks of paid vacation and very liberal sick leave and striking rights, the article notes.
Dive Insight:
According to the Daily Mail, complying with the law will fall on employers, who must ensure that workers are not pressured to check on work-related emails or documents on their mobile devices.
Bruno Mettling, director general of mobile giant Orange, is credited with the idea, saying that employees who have a good work-life balance are more productive than those who come to work stressed out.
The news offers a strong look at how France's work week differs from most of the world. By comparison, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, an international economic organization of 34 countries, reports that in the U.S., employees work an average of 1,789 hours annually. In Mexico it's 2,228 hours, and Britons work 1,677 hours annually, compared to the French who spend 1,473 hours at work each year.