France Just Gave Workers the ‘Right to Disconnect’ From Work Email

Longing to disconnect from work while you’re not on the job? You might want to move to France.

France has instituted a nationwide law in the new year that’s giving workers the right to unplug from their jobs while they’re not in the office, the New York Times reports. The law requires that companies with more than 50 employees negotiate a system that ensures work email does not infringe upon days off, evenings and weekends. Discussing the need for the law last year, Myriam El Khomri, the country’s minister of labor, noted “the boundary between professional and personal life has become tenuous.”

In order to meet the new protocol, consultants are recommending that workers avoid the “reply all” function on emails to limit the number of people receiving an email. Another strategy is to designate a time each evening after which employees are not expected to reply to an email. Some have suggested the hours between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m., while others have indicated the 12-hour window between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.