Germany STOPS Managers From Calling or E-mailing Staff After Work Hours

1. The German ministry of labor has banned managers from calling or emailing their staff after office hours except there is an emergency. The ministry says this measure has been put in place to prevent staff from suffering undue stress by being constantly on call.
   
   The Daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung has reported on Friday that the ministry is adopting the methods of major German companies like automaker Volkswagen and Deutsche Telekom.
   
   Among the guidelines, it is stated that no staff should be penalized for turning off their cellphone or failing to respond to messages after working hours. This has been done “to prevent self-exploitation.”
   
   It also said that managers should not call staff on leave, but out-of-hours contact was permitted “in exceptional circumstances.