The news has admittedly been overstated, but even if it doesn’t affect all of the country’s workers, I — like much of the Internet — was still interested to read that French employers’ federations and unions recently signed an agreement that obliges staff to “‘disconnect’ from work calls and emails after working hours,” per the Guardian.
I’m lucky enough to be in a profession without round-the-clock connectivity expectations, but I am not immune to the creeping digital brain-drain during times when I’m supposed to be off. Still, with a young child, it’s hard for me not to disconnect while I’m with him. So I carry a smart phone and read email, but generally don’t respond, unless something’s urgent, until normal working hours (or, in limited doses, after he goes to bed). So it’s an intrusion, but a limited one.
Do you feel pressure to answer email in the evenings?
Yes, I do feel pressure to check and, if necessary, to respond to email “after hours.” The culture of the organization and the pace of the emails is such that if I don’t do so, I miss out on the opportunity to participate in conversations at all. A sad commentary on many levels…
If it were only that simple. My job REQUIRES 24/7 access (IT Manager) while there are times I can disconnect, they are few and far between.