Working out of office hours – How much is too much?

Since we have moved into the 21st mobile technology century, there have been some drastic changes with the way we communicate and how often. Email, smart phones and social networks have allowed us to connect faster and more efficiently. From an employment perspective, this allows us to send, receive and communication in a much quicker fashion. For some workers and industries, the constant ability to communicate can mean a never-ending work day. Employers are expecting more and more out of employees. Employees are expected to be on-call, checking their emails out of office hours, on weekends and during holidays. Is the fast paced communication system to blame? Are we required to respond and communicate at the drop of a hat because we have the ability to?

Just recently, the French government issued a ban on work emails past 6:00 PM during the week. Effectively making it illegal for people to work past this time out of hours. The deal that was signed between employers federation and unions state that employees are required to switch off their work phones and not look at emails to avoid disruption while employers are legally not allowed to pressure their employers to check work related emails.

The question is, is thispossible else were? Will this succeed in France? There has been much speculation over whether the 6:00 ban will last and how unions will react. For some nations similar bans are not possible. Within the UK, there are laws and regulations that prevent employees from being forced to work too much.

For some industries, a ban such as this simply cannot be regulated. Work hours and flexibility standards vary. Within the travel and leisure industry, much of the work varies. People travel constantly, all year round at all hours of the day, therefore the industry itself must adapt and be ready. For some this may mean the need to work out of hours, for some not.