It started in Germany last summer, now France. Should we send and respond to work emails out-of-hours, to safeguard against employee burnout?

The emerging culture of always been in-touch with work, appears good for business but not in the long run if employees burnout. Sending and responding to work email in evenings, weekends and holiday encroaches into the physiological breathing space, we need to be effective at work - disconnect, recharge and regain a sense of perspective. Otherwise, work can easily become all too much - leading to workplace anxiety, poor performance and illness. With work quickly becoming a 'not a happy place' to work.

Obviously there are emergencies, and exceptions need to be made. But, greater clarity in work email protocols will give relieve stress and benefit employee wellbeing and performance in the long run.

It will be better for businesses to be up front and clear on their business specific work email protocols rather than leaving it to Government Legislation to fix. As there will be no guarantee the businesses will like the result.