France is about to regulate work email Balint Porneczi/Bloomberg
France is about to regulate work email Balint Porneczi/Bloomberg

Right to disconnect?



In our increasingly connected world of smartphones and social media, it is difficult to wind down after hours. Frankly, it is difficult to get offline, and this has made finding an ­ideal work-life balance that much harder. In France, a country known for short working hours and generous holiday leave, the government is intervening with an aggressive new solution to the problem of being connected for work.

As part of a new labour law, companies of more that 50 employees are banned from sending emails to staff after normal working hours. Many will view the law as France’s rejection of the fast-paced nature of work today. Others will see this to be heavy-handed and out of sync with the nature of global, or indeed even indigenous French, business.

Either way, it has started a debate about the the reach of the office. Hopefully, it will extend beyond France, because we all need to achieve some balance in our lives. But one that must also reflect the reality of work and doing business today. Your thoughts?

'Shakuntala Devi'

Starring: Vidya Balan, Sanya Malhotra

Director: Anu Menon

Rating: Three out of five stars

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Five famous companies founded by teens

There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:

  1. Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate. 
  2. Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc. 
  3. Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway. 
  4. Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
  5. Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Rating: 2/5