Unplug Policy: Calling Your Colleague On An Off Day? You Will Be Fined Rs 1 Lakh

New Delhi: The work-life balance in India has always been skewed and has especially come into question post the pandemic when the lines between home and office got blurred. Homes became 24×7 offices and personal life went for a toss. Now, an Indian company has come up with an interesting policy that will let the employees enjoy their holidays in peace. A holiday will mean a holiday. It won’t mean being a call away. Employees who have the habit of disturbing their colleagues on their leave days may have to pay a hefty fine for doing so.

Fantasy sports company Dream11 has come with a Dream 11 Unplug policy, which is specially designed to let employees enjoy their holidays without having to deal with work emails, messages and calls. Under the new policy, employees can be cut off from work and work-related emails, messages, calls and even their colleagues for a week, India Today reported.

Announcing the Dream 11 Unplug policy, the company posted on their Linkedin account, “At Dream11, we actually log off the ‘Dreamster’ who is unplugged, off from every possible Stadium communication platform, be it slack, emails and even WhatsApp groups. We do this to ensure absolutely no one from the Dreamster’s work ecosystem can contact them while they are on their well-deserved break”.
“We understand that spending quality time with loved ones or just relaxing altogether on a vacation, can immensely improve the overall mood, quality of life, productivity in general and more,” the company noted.

As per a CNBC report, the founders of the company, Harsh Jain and Bhavit Seth have said that if any employee reaches out to another employee during the “UNPLUG” time, he or she will have to pay a hefty fine of Rs 1 Lakh. Everyone in the company can have Unplug time irrespective of their designation, date of joining and other factors. The founders have told the publication that the policy was rolled out to ensure that the company is not reliant on any employee.

Employees are reportedly very happy with the company’s new policy. “Allowing employees to cut off from all company systems and groups is one of the best perks one can get. We are not bothered with work calls, emails, messages, or even WhatsApp for seven days. This helps us spend some quality time doing what we love. And for me, it’s time to head to the mountains. I, for one, do not feel guilty about not having a sufficient network. It’s the most distinctive form of unplugging. This disconnected time also helps one rejuvenate, relax and come back feeling fresh, happy, and renewed energy to give one’s best performance,” a Dream 11 employee was quoted as saying.