WeChat is ruining work-life balance, and one local government wants to fix it

In China, WeChat is for both work and play, but one Zhuhai district wants the right to disconnect

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WeChat is ruining work-life balance, and one local government wants to fix it

Masha Borak

Published: 10:40pm, 14 May 2019Updated: 9:04am, 20 Sep 2019

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

Technology has improved many aspects of work, but mobile tech has also introduced one major problem for people trying to enjoy their time off the clock: Being constantly available. Now a district in one Chinese city is fed up with people who keep texting about work after hours and wants to put a stop to it.

The local government of Xiangzhou district in Zhuhai (the Chinese city across the border from Macau) proposed banning the practice for government employees at the beginning of the month.

The sentiment is not unique to China. Back in 2017, France introduced the “right to disconnect“ in a law that gives French workers the freedom to ignore work emails and other forms of communication once they're out of the office. Each company decides how to implement this on its own.

Many countries have proposed similar laws, with Germany, Italy, the Philippines and Spain having already adopted them. A similar bill was even proposed in New York City last year, although it hasn’t been passed.

But in China, disconnecting from work obligations can be more difficult. Unlike in the West, where people tend to use email or work-optimized apps like Slack, China's online communication -- whether with a boss or family -- revolves around just one app: WeChat.

WeChat, the app that does everything

This means that for many, it's getting harder to separate private and work communication. Xiangzhou district published the announcement as part of a measure to reduce the burden on government workers and standardize WeChat communication.