Recently, TIME published an article on how five countries around the world are trying to improve the work/life balance of their employees by introducing certain strict regulations. One of the countries was France, whose workers and businessmen just gained the right to disconnect and refuse to answer their emails out of office hours. Those regulations closely mirror those of German companies, who starting as early as 2014 created a cultural norm of not answering emails when one is away on vacation.
I, for one, think this is a great idea. In this age of technology and 24/7 connectedness, there can at times be this underlying expectation to always be "on call". Somehow, being able to get an incoming message at any hour of the day translates to bosses expecting quicker response times and action out of workers, even if it means responding to emails at midnight and making sales deals while away on vacation. For me, I'd always loved the idea of being able to be connected, professionally, at any time and at any place, but this appreciation of connection has also come with an underlying fear that productivity and response times will only become a race to the bottom, with work taking over our lives and without an iota of quiet, unfettered free time to ourselves. I mean, we're already seeing hints of that happening, from Amazon workers who are expected to reply to emails in the middle of the night to Silicon valley employees whose livelihoods are embroiled in the hubs of ever-connected tech companies and startups. If we can't step away from our work, then will we achieve a well-balanced life? Is balance even possible to begin with?
There is definitely a greater potential for self-improvement and quicker response with the advent of technology. Look, there is a merit to working hard and being willing to stay connected to "get ahead". But--and I say this as a self-professed rabid semi-perfectionist who has worked at all hours of the night--I think that in workers in this time period should definitely not have to be swept up in dizzying, high-speed expectations of constantly being connected to company obligations and work responsibilities via email and smartphones. To me, being expected to be connected at all times and *constantly* answer company e-mails outside of work equates to an insidious type of overtime--something that is productive when done intermittently, but definitely not healthy as a lifestyle.
I admire the steps that Germany and France have taken to acknowledge the effect of technology on company expectations and curb those expectations by introducing regulations, and I hope that our country also takes those matters into consideration as well.
I never realized how much the work/life balance differs between different countries until I visited France and saw that on Sundays, most shops were completely closed in order to give time off to employees. In addition, I learned that in August, many businesses are closed the entire month to allow employees to go on annual vacations. Other European countries have similar policies. China also has several week-long national holidays where workers get a break. In comparison, the US has some of the longest work hours and most strict vacation policies. Now, with the spread of social media and technologies, there are even higher expectations to be always on call, and I'm worried this is neither productive nor healthy. I agree completely with you that we need to find a balance between work and rest. Technology should be used as a tool for increasing efficiency, but it shouldn't be a tool that forces us to squeeze every drop of free time tied to our work.
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