( CNN ) -- As a frequent traveler to Germany , I ca n't help but compare it to the United States . At first , I admired its new architecture . Then I became fascinated with how many different recycling bins line the streets . Lately , I 've been marveling at the country 's work-life balance . Germans work on average 35 hours per week by law . Yet , Germany has n't lost any edge as an industrial powerhouse . In fact , Germany has remained Europe 's biggest economy , even helping to keep the continent afloat during the global recession . ( Though lately , growth has been modest for Germany as anxiety looms over Europe ' drag economy . ) And let 's not forget the amazingly generous maternity-leave policies . When German babies are born , parents can take up to 14 months off of work while still making 65 % of their salary . Concern for work-life balance does n't stop there . German Labor Minister Andrea Nahles is calling for an `` anti-stress regulation '' forbidding employers from contacting their employees after business hours . No emails . No phone calls . No text messages . Talk about protecting people 's personal time . There 's good reason to be concerned about work-life balance . One-third of all heart disease cases are linked to stress , often from working too hard . A 2012 study showed that working lengthy hours increases current and future risks of depression . As NPR reported this week , a health expert from the Federation of German Trade Unions has sounded an alarm about the stress , burnout and reduced productivity that result from working too much . Whether or not the policy is enacted , one thing is clear : America could learn a thing or two from Germany when it comes to healthy work attitudes . Imagine the outcry if an American politician or high-ranking government official suggested a `` no emails after 6 p.m. '' policy . The reactions ? Probably : `` She 's a lazy bum ! '' `` He wants a nanny state ! '' `` The government wants to take away my right to work all the time and neglect my family ! '' I happen to have a job that I love , and I do n't mind answering emails at all hours . But not everyone is so fortunate . For fear of losing their jobs , many Americans not only check emails after hours but also go to work while sick . Who cares if you 're giving everyone strep throat ? At least the boss knows you 're a hard worker . And then there are the people who can make ends meet just fine , but still feel the need to be workaholics . Does our Protestant work ethic condition us to classify leisure time as a moral failure ? Are we in some sort of sick competition to see who can be the most over-worked , over-stressed person ? Compared with other rich countries , America is more stressed and less happy . According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development , we are 28th among advanced nations when it comes to work-life balance -- ninth from the bottom . If increasing our work hours hurts us instead of helping us , why exactly do we do it ? What 's fascinating about this topic is that American conservatives love to extol America 's `` family values '' while demonizing those godless European countries like Germany . Yet America has no mandatory maternity leave , no limits to the work week and certainly no interest in curtailing the ability to be `` on call '' 24 hours a day . Is n't it pro-family to be able to have the time to care for a newborn ? Is n't it pro-family to be able to spend time , uninterrupted , with your loved ones in the evening ? Journalist Matt Bruenig argued in The Week earlier this year that if American social conservatives really wanted a return to households where men were the breadwinners , women stayed home with the kids and people had more time for family overall , they should embrace European-style socialism . But as the `` no email after work '' proposal demonstrates , some Germans fear they 're getting too close to attaining that great American value called stress . In the United States , one in nine employees work more than 50 hours a week . In Germany , it 's one in 18 . That 's a big difference . But get this -- in the Netherlands , only one in 152 employees works more than 50 hours per week , making Germany look quite `` American '' in comparison . Whether Germany restricts emails after hours is n't the point . The point is protecting your work-life balance . Germany knows how to do it , and we do n't . Granted , some jobs , such as doctors , paramedics and firefighters , require some level of being on call . Other jobs -- which is to say , the majority of jobs -- have no such need . Nevertheless , we Americans always have our laptops open , our smartphones on and our tablets handy . Better be ready in case the boss needs us during dinner , family time or vacation . But this attitude will be worth it in the end , right ? At least on our deathbeds we 'll never have to say , `` I wish I 'd made myself more available by email after work . ''
In Germany a proposed law would ban employers from emailing employees after work . Comment: Germany is far ahead of U.S. in work-life balance policies and culture . He says conservatives like to extol `` family values '' yet U.S. has few family-friendly polices . Wheeler : No wonder when compared with other rich countries , U.S. is more stressed .