A district in southern China’s Guangdong province has a new rule for government employees: Stop sending work-related messages after office hours.

According to an official announcement Sunday, people working at government offices in Xiangzhou District in the city of Zhuhai are now prohibited from discussing work on popular messaging app WeChat outside of regular business hours. The directive also stipulated that each department in the district government should have no more than one chat group on the app for official communication between employees and prohibited any future workplace meetings from taking place on Tuesdays. The district government said the move is intended to reduce employee stress and promote a healthy work-life balance.

Xiangzhou’s announcement comes amid a push for protracted work hours by China’s private sector. Last month, billionaire Jack Ma was criticized for praising people who are willing to work 12-hour shifts six days a week — commonly known as 996 — calling the grueling schedule “a huge blessing.” (Image: IC)