Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 39 to 43.
Some of Germany's biggest companies have brought in rules to protect their workers from being disturbed by work email outside office hours. Firms such as the car manufacturers Volkswagen have reacted to growing levels of employee stress and burnout by installing software to prevent emails from reaching employees at home.
In France, workers have protested against the way that the use of electronic devices has been exposing workers to much longer unpaid hours than the official thirty- five-hour working week. In response, the government has recently introduced laws which insist on employers switching off email contact after 6 p.m.
But some employers and employees have criticised the new rules for not taking account of modern- day flexible working practices. Many parents, for example, prefer to leave work early to pick up their children and then check emails later in the evening. The fact that you can be contacted on email might actually mean that a lot of people are able to leave the office earlier than they would have done ten or fifteen years ago.
(Adapted from Navigate)
