It's not a law, it's an agreement between the managers' union and the enterprises' union. Only managers with a specific kind of contract (~250,000 people) are affected by this. I know that contract because it's the one I have had for 10 years. This contracts provides no maximum daily work hours, only a minimum about of rest hours : 11. Ergo, you can't work more than 13 hours a day, which I don't think anyone will claim is not a fucking lot.
With this contract, I have to work 218 days a year. This means that if there are many bank holidays on week days on any given year, I will have less PTO that year (since they're replaced by the bank holidays). These contracts are the exception not the rule, and they exist because people like me who pull very long hours would cost way to much if we were paid overtime. I regularly take planes on week ends, or come back late from a customer (meeting ending at 6pm in Germany, plane at 8pm in Munich, I'm home at midnight).
Last but not least, the agreement doesn't prohibits after-hour emails or calls, but make it so the employer cannot expect from us to pick up the phone after work hours. Since most of the time we're working anyway (I'm on the road or in an airport terminal) I will pick up the phone or do emails if only because I might be bored - but if I had a rough and long day and decide to read a book instead, the employer cannot call me out for doing this. It was already the case of my employer who understands my complicated schedule and the stress and fatigue that goes with it, but the fact that it's now a rule make it so that less understanding employers can't do that any more. This agreement is nicknamed "Anti-burnout" around here.
Don't the that American ass. Poor you, Europeans are meanies and you totally don't deserve anything they say about you
According to the World Bank (who's not known to be particularly anti-American), the per-capita oil consumption in the US in 2010 was 1,108 kilograms (clearly they are, in fact, anti-american for not using gallons). France sits at a whopping 113. UK 241. Germany 223. So yes, please, tell me more about the poor Americans who are not sucking up all the oil.
This weekend, GitHub employee Julie Horvath spoke publicly about negative experiences she had at GitHub that contributed to her resignation. I am deeply saddened by these developments and want to comment on what GitHub is doing to address them.
We know we have to take action and have begun a full investigation. While that’s ongoing, and effective immediately, the relevant founder has been put on leave, as has the referenced GitHub engineer. The founder’s wife discussed in the media reports has never had hiring or firing power at GitHub and will no longer be permitted in the office.
GitHub has grown incredibly fast over the past two years, bringing a new set of challenges. Nearly a year ago we began a search for an experienced HR Lead and that person came on board in January 2014. We still have work to do. We know that. However, making sure GitHub employees are getting the right feedback and have a safe way to voice their concerns is a primary focus of the company.
As painful as this experience has been, I am super thankful to Julie for her contributions to GitHub. Her hard work building Passion Projects has made a huge positive impact on both GitHub and the tech community at large, and she's done a lot to help us become a more diverse company. I would like to personally apologize to Julie. It’s certain that there were things we could have done differently. We wish Julie well in her future endeavors.
Chris Wanstrath
CEO & Co-Founder
It is easier to write an incorrect program than understand a correct one.
