When France became the first and, to date, the only country in the world to adopt a 35-hour working week, in 1999, unionists hailed a milestone in human evolution.
That was until new technology spoilt it all. With the advent of email and smartphones, workers found themselves bombarded with messages during the 133 hours of the week in which they are supposed to rest. Now there is hope for a return to more civilised practices, after a ground-breaking labour agreement that includes an obligation to disconnect.
The legally binding deal, signed by employers’ federations and unions representing almost a million workers in the digital and consultancy sectors, stipulates that employees should be left alone when they are out of the office.
Staff will be ordered