Many of us remember the days when the only way the boss could get in touch with you was by land line telephone.  Then they invented call display and we could ignore the calls if we chose to.

 

Then, we all got on the email.  We have to be on the email.  Communication is a key to good business, right?

 

Well, in France, the government has passed a law which gives workers the right to disconnect if they so choose.  It applies to businesses with 50 employees or more.

 

You see, studies are showing there's just too much work-related stress these days.  We leave the workplace but we're still connected via email.  People are breaking down, mentally and physically.

 

This isn't new.  Six years ago, Volkswagen made a move to stop their servers from sending emails 30 minutes after employees finished their shifts and, in Brazil, employees who take time to answer emails from work when they're not "on the job" are entitled to overtime pay.

 

It's something to think about and perhaps something to talk about at your next staff meeting.