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Portugal is moving towards a healthier work-life balance by making it law. I’m Brian Banmiller on Business.

Feel like you’re always on the clock even when you’re off? Feel pressure to respond to emails or text messages on the weekend or after hours? You’re not alone. Now Portugal’s ruling socialist party is doing something about it. According to new labor laws just approved by the country’s parliament, it will be illegal for your boss to text you outside your working hours. If they do, the company will face penalties. Employers will also be forbidden from monitoring their employees while they work from home. In addition, companies must now contribute to the additional expenses people have picked up since they began working from home. This can include bills for electricity or internet, and can now be written off as a business expense. Parents of young children will now have the right to work at home until their kids are eight without having to get permission from their employer. These new rules are in response to the rise in remote working. Let’s see if any other countries do the same. Brian Banmiller, CBS News.

About Brian

CBS News Radio national business journalist Brian Banmiller has spent more than 40 years in the news industry, covering business, politics and the economy on television, radio and in print. Currently, his “Banmiller on Business” reports are delivered to an audience of millions nationwide.