New French Law Bars Work Email After
Hours
Pre
discussion questions
What do
you think of this new law?
Would
this law be possible in your country?
Workers need to be able to switch off after work. So a new French
law says that companies with more than 50 employees must decide hours when
staff should not send or answer emails. The goal of the law is so that employees
are fairly paid for work. And another goal is for preventing burnout. To prevent burnout private
time must be protected.
French legislator Benoit Hamon said that the
law as an answer to the problems of employees who “leave the office, but do not
really leave their work. They remain attached by a kind of electronic
leash—like a dog.”
The email restrictions could give good benefits to both workers and businesses.
It could do this by making employees more relaxed and work better. As pointed out, academic studies have found that workplace
email is a significant source of stress. A group of Stanford business professors have
estimated that workplace stress
added between $125 and $190 billion dollars per year to America’s
healthcare costs. The total amount is
between 5 and 8% of total costs to a business. Overwork amounts to $48 billion
of that.
Those healthcare costs are largely borne by employers. And this is also
with the problem of irritable or
absent employees. Employees tired by the control of their private lives
Try
to guess the meaning of the words in bold and match them with their closest
meaning from the choices in the right. Some of the answers are very close and
have similar meaning. The meaning of these words is how they are used in the
reading. Some of these words have different meanings in the dictionary
depending on how they are used.
The
answers are below the table.
switch off
|
A
|
1
|
Exhausted from too much work
|
burnout.
|
B
|
2
|
Something large and easy to notice or see
|
restriction
|
C
|
3
|
To be started, to begin from
|
pointed out
|
D
|
4
|
Annoying, bother, something that makes
you a bit angry
|
significant
|
E
|
5
|
To show, to indicate,
|
estimated
|
F
|
6
|
To be able to stop thinking about or
doing something
|
borne
|
G
|
7
|
To guess or suggest what something is
worth, to make a guess about when or how something might happen
|
irritable
|
H
|
8
|
To not allow or to control someone from
doing something, a kind of rule or law
|
A=6, B=1, C=8, D=5, E=2, F=7,
G=3, H=4
Some
example sentences using the new words or phrases from the meaning of how they
are used in the reading to help you understand better.
1.
After work, I like to switch off by listening to classical
music.
2.
Some say that working in
Samsung can cause burnout because of
the long hours.
3.
The government put restrictions on using water because
there had been no rain for four months.
4.
The teacher pointed out that this was not the
answer to the question.
5.
My father was significant in my life, he gave me so
much good advice.
6.
It is estimated that one million refugees will try to escape the war.
7.
My desire to study to be a
doctor was borne from a desire to
help people.
8.
These mosquitoes are irritating.
Some
questions using the new words/phrases. Try to use the words/phrases in your
answer.
1.
How do you switch off after work?
2.
Do you think your country will
bring in similar laws to stop worker burnout?
Why or why not?
3.
Are there any restrictions you would like to see on
companies in your country?
4.
What things does this story point
out to you?
5.
Do you agree that work emails
are a significant source of stress?
Why or why not?
6.
Do you estimate that the cost to Korea’s healthcare from stress is the
same, more, or less than America?
7.
What costs do employers in your
country have to bear because of
worker stress? If employers in your country had to bear the cost of stress, then do you think they would change?
8.
What actions are examples of
employees that are irritable?