In a bid to reclaim personal time and bring a better work-life balance, France has enacted what it called "right to disconnect." With this, workers can ignore emails after work hours. Here's why the same law would not work in the United States.
Because of the advancement of technology and the wide use of mobile devices today, it can't be helped that work would spill over employees' time outside the office. This has led to unpaid overtime and workers experiencing burnout.
That were some of the reasons that French workers lobbied for a right not to check work-related messages after their office hours. The law came into effect in France on Jan. 1.
However, in the United States, the same rule might not work. "Inc. Uncensored" podcast discusses the case in the U.S., saying that the right to disconnect might not fly in the country. For one, Americans have an "always on" culture, which means that being able to respond immediately is one of the expectations among workers.
Inc.com also pointed out a weak union presence in the country, so pushing for such a law would certainly not be easy. And lastly, there's a pervasive use of smartphones among Americans, which makes it not that easy to unplug.
Regardless of the law, there are many good reasons to impose a "right to disconnect" on a personal level. Forbes listed some of the benefits of unplugging from technology during off hours. First is that everyone needs a downtime to recover from stress and recharge for the next day.
Too much use technology can lead to mental and psychological health problems. One needs some quiet and peaceful hours at home to focus on other things and spend some dedicated time with their family. Put away your gadgets and take the time to really connect with your friends face to face.
