Say ‘Nein’ to Nonstop E-mails to Save Workers’ Sanity

Americans are so obsessed with checking their e-mails on their smartphones almost 24/7—even those sent by their bosses—that they check them on weekends and vacation and sometimes walk into telephone poles or out into streets while reading them. But does the constant contact with work cause employees unreasonable and unhealthy stress? “Jawohl,” says German Employment Minister Andrea Nahles.

Telling a German newspaper Rheinische Post that “there is an undeniable relationship between constant availability and the increase of mental illness,” the Minister has requested the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to research the ramifications of electronic availability and develop recommendations for binding rules on employer-to-employee e-mails during off-hours.

According to The Guardian, several large German corporations like Volkswagen and BMW have already implemented their own restrictions, and Daimler has installed software that automatically erases any e-mails sent during nonwork hours. Now Nahles wants to make restrictions universal, especially since several German unions are supporting the restrictions, reporting that constant contact with work was causing member turnover and retirements.

And the Huffington Post explains that the new 1990 German Constitution guarantees the right to “develop one’s personality,” which is difficult to do if you are on call with your workplace.

The research findings are due in 2015 with a target date of 2016 for legislation. But earlier this year, HRSBT reported how the French have already said “mais non” to off-hours e-mailing with a work rule spearheaded by unions that ensured that workers are not required to be connected to work electronically during nonworking hours. While the rule did not specify a cutoff time, the accepted practice seems to be no contact after 6 o’clock.

Would this work in America? Well, do U.S. workers really want to look up from their smartphones and interact with their families at the dinner table?