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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/apr/09/new-work-life-balance-france-sweden-laws-countries-better-job-hours-work

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Version 1 Version 2
Work-life balance: what changes could help improve yours? Work-life balance: what changes could help improve yours?
(5 months later)
New New labour laws in France now protect some workers in the digital and consultancy sectors - including the French offices of Google, Facebook, Deloitte and PwC - from having to respond to work emails outside of workign hours.
labour laws in France now protect some workers in the Companies must ensure that their employees come under no pressure to look at work-related emails or documents on their tablets or computers to ensure they receive the full minimum rest periods already mandated in employment regulations.
digital and consultancy sectors - including the French offices of France's labour laws saw Apple fined for making staff in France work nights last year, as the law forbids shifts between 9pm and 6am unless the work plays an important role in the economy or is socially useful. Its 35-hour week, introduced in 1999, has come under threat from the increasingly widespread use of smartphones.
Google, Facebook, Deloitte and PwC - from having to respond to work emails outside of workign hours. Chairman of the General Confederation of Managers, Michel de la Force, said: "We must also measure digital working time. We can admit extra work in exceptional circumstances but we must always come back to what is normal, which is to unplug, to stop being permanently at work."
Companies must ensure that their A Swedish city council announced this week that it's trialling six-hour workdays with full pay for its staff in Gothenburg. The experiment is based on the theory that after six hours, employees become tired and productivity is reduced.
employees come under no pressure to look at work-related emails or Deputy mayor Mats Pilhem told the Swedish edition of The Local that a six-hour workday produced positive results at a car factory in the city, and he hopes that the trial will reduce inefficiency and create more jobs.
documents on their tablets or computers to ensure they receive the full minimum rest periods already mandated in employment regulations. The left-wing Social Democrat and Green parties' initiative has been called a "dishonest and populist ploy" by the Gothenburg council’s main opposition – the Moderate party - ahead of local elections this year.
France's labour laws saw Apple Full time workers in Austria and Greece work an average of 43.7 hours per week, the longest in Europe, with workers in the UK spending 42.7 hours a week at the office according to ONS figures from 2011.
fined for making staff in France work nights last year, as the law What's work-life balance like in your country? Does your industry require you to work outside office hours, or do you switch your phone off and hope for the best? Are you benefiting from the new rules in France and Sweden? Or will the law change hinder your ability to communicate with your colleagues effectively? What initiatives would make the biggest improvement to your life?
forbids shifts between 9pm and 6am unless the work plays an important Let us know what it's like for you by commenting in the thread below
role in the economy or is socially useful. Its 35-hour week, introduced in 1999, has come under threat from the • This article was amended on 12 April 2014. An earlier version stated that the labour deal would require staff "to switch off their phones after 6pm". The deal obliges staff to "disconnect" from work calls and emails after working hours to ensure they receive the full minimum rest periods already mandated in French employment regulations but there is no particular time at which they are required to do so.
increasingly widespread use of smartphones.
Chairman
of the General Confederation of Managers, Michel de la Force, said: "We must also measure digital working time. We can admit
extra work in exceptional circumstances but we must always come back
to what is normal, which is to unplug, to stop being permanently at
work."
A
Swedish city council announced this week that it's trialling six-hour workdays with full pay for its staff in Gothenburg. The experiment is
based on the theory that after six hours, employees become tired and
productivity is reduced.
Deputy mayor Mats Pilhem
told the Swedish edition of The
Local
that a six-hour workday produced positive results at a
car factory in the city, and he hopes that the trial will reduce
inefficiency and create more jobs.
The left-wing Social Democrat and Green
parties' initiative has been called a "dishonest and populist
ploy" by the Gothenburg council’s main opposition – the
Moderate party - ahead of local elections this year.
Full time workers in Austria and Greece work an average of 43.7 hours per week, the longest in Europe, with workers in the UK spending 42.7 hours
a week
at the office according to ONS figures from 2011.
What's
work-life balance like in your country? Does your industry require
you to work outside office hours, or do you switch your phone off
and hope for the best? Are you benefiting from the new rules in
France and Sweden? Or
will
the law change hinder your ability to communicate with your
colleagues effectively? What initiatives would make the biggest improvement to your life?
Let
us know what it's like for you by commenting in the thread below
• This article was amended on 12 April 2014. An earlier version stated
that the labour deal would require
staff "to switch off their phones after 6pm". The deal obliges staff to
"disconnect" from work calls and emails after working hours to ensure
they receive the full minimum rest periods already mandated in French
employment regulations but there is no particular time at which they are
required to do so.