France is close to bringing in a new law which will ban companies from sending emails to their staff out of office hours.
It's intended to reduce pressure on staff to respond to emails after work.
Is it a good idea and should we be doing it in New Zealand?
In this age of smartphones we can switch from social life to work space in just a swipe. The temptation to check our work emails is always at our fingertips even when we're not at work.
"When we're at home, we should be at home," says Challenge of Change stress expert Cynthia Johnson.
"Few people need to be available 24/7."
France has come up with a radical solution -- a new law that will require companies with more than 50 employees come up with hours during which employees cannot check or send emails.
But could such a law really work here?
John Rooney, a Simpson Grierson partner and expert in employment law, says it's a great idea in concept.
"[Work emails] impinge on home life and work life balance, but I see major problems around how it would work," Mr Rooney says.
"In the legal profession, we have clients around the world and are contacted at all hours. You'd have a real challenge how it would work in those circumstances. It would be interesting to see how the policy would be put together."
Ms Johnson says while some people do need to do some work out of hours, it's become a habit and we're getting addicted.
"We need to be disciplined. If you need to address emails after work you should set a time, for example between 9 and 9:30pm, and do them then, but not outside of that time."
The law wouldn't penalise companies that don't stick to its terms; instead businesses are expected to comply voluntarily.
Vend founder and CEO Vaughan Rowsell says it would be tough for Kiwi companies to implement.
"No one likes being overloaded with emails each day, and it is very important to have times when you can unplug and disconnect from work. But for a company working across lots of timezones from New Zealand, emails don't always fall within 9am-5pm, so it's not something that would be a practical law for some companies here."
Mr Rowsell says businesses should instead focus on balance, "which is something we work really hard on. We ensure employees who work across timezones are supported in other ways, with things like flexible hours, working from home."
Ms Johnson says managers need to be careful about what messages they're sending.
"If they're sending emails after hours, are they expecting replies? Maybe they'd be better to keep their emails in drafts until the next day instead of unintentionally putting that pressure on staff to respond right away."
The bill has been passed by the French parliament, but it will have to be studied by members of its Senate and sent back to the National Assembly before it can be made law.
Newshub.
