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Weekend Work Emails Are Now Illegal In France

France has made checking your emails at the weekend illegal in order to force people to digitally disconnect

The French are paving the way for work-free stress with the new law, which will force companies with 50 employees or more to let their workers disconnect during after-work hours.

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Aimed at improving work-life balance and manage work-related stress, the amendment has been called 'the right to disconnect' and not only applies to the weekend but out-of-hours emails as well.

Benoit Hamon of the French National Assembly told the BBC: “All the studies show there is far more work-related stress today than there used to be, and that the stress is constant.

"Employees physically leave the office, but they do not leave their work. They remain attached by a kind of electronic leash-- like a dog. The texts, the messages, the emails -- they colonise the life of the individual to the point where he or she eventually breaks down."

Work-related burnout is becoming a massive concern for the French government with Les Echoes reporting that 1 in 10 of the country's workforce are at high risk of a burnout which is caused by physical fatigue and the fear of failure.

The new law does have its limits with companies expected to voluntarily implement it across their teams, with no set penalty yet in place if they fail to adhere to the conditions.