France might pass a law that makes it illegal to send after-hours work emails

After-hours and weekend work emails may soon become illegal in France. A bill that prevents companies of 50 or more employees from sending emails after typical work hours passed the French lower parliamentary house earlier this week.

The case against after-work emails is that they can cause high levels of stress among employees.

"All the studies show there is far more work-related stress today than there used to be and that the stress is constant," said Benoit Hamon, a Socialist member of parliament, to the BBC. "The texts, the messages, the emails -- they colonize the life of the individual to the point where he or she eventually breaks down."