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OFF BEAT: French tech workers refuse to surrender their free time

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Are you tired of getting emails from your boss outside of working hours? Then you should consider moving to France and getting a job in the tech industry.

An agreement signed by employers’ federations and digital and technology sector trade unions bars employers from contacting staff in the 133 hours of the week designated for personal time and ensures there is no pressure on employees to keep in touch after hours, according to the Telegraph newspaper.

The affected employees, including those who work for the French arms of Google Inc. and Facebook Inc., have been told to turn off professional phones and emails when they’re off the clock, the Telegraph reported.

“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,” Michel De La Force, chairman of the General Confederation of Managers, said in the Telegraph’s report.