It’s now illegal to check your work email on the weekends in France and we’re sorta jealous

If you’re sick of spending chunks of your precious weekend scrolling through endless work emails, it might be time to relocate. Have you considered France as a possible destination? Now we love baguettes and brie as much as anyone, but the reason that France might be the best place for those craving a little downtime is a new law: it’s now illegal to check your work email on weekends in France. OK — it’s not like you’ll get locked up for it, but everyone has the “right to disconnect” in the country and we think it’s a super good idea.

France is starting off the new year with an impressive resolution: turn off your technology when you’re away from work. Starting on the 1st of January, employers are now legally obligated to provide a list of hours when workers can’t be plugged in and frantically keeping up with emails. Can you imagine? Most bosses just send lists of things to do over the weekend.

This law applies to any company with more than 50 workers and is a huge step forward when it comes to giving people some much-needed downtime. Everyone is guilty of checking work emails when they should be spending quality time with family; now there’s a legal obligation to bond with your relatives.

Of course, the downside to this ‘right to disconnect’ has to do with the penalties for disobeying. Technically, there aren’t any if you decide to check your work email anyway. So while your company has to tell you when to stay away from your corporate email, you can’t get in trouble for sneaking a peak at that big project you’ve been working on.

Still, this law is a definite move in the right direction when it comes to separating your work and personal life. Now excuse us, we’re just looking for our passport.