Disturbing colleagues with work on holidays? This company will fine you Rs 1 lakh

Dream 11 employees will get 7 days undisturbed leave. Representational image. (Shutterstock)

Whether it’s a holiday or leaves, that has on several occasions undeterred office colleagues to reach out to their co-workers with some query or the other. While most times people oblige reluctantly, many have just accepted it as something they have to do. While this is unhealthy for a work-life balance, most people don’t even seem to realise that taking a break is equally important as working.

So, Dream 11, the world’s biggest fantasy sports platform, they have come up with an “Unplug” policy that will allow employees to take undisturbed days off and if someone bothers them with work in that period, the employees will be fined.

The company's co-founders Harsh Jain and Bhavit Seth told CNBC TV-18 that any employee who contacts another employee during the "Unplug" period will be fined Rs 1 lakh. Everyone in the company can have “Unplug” time, regardless of their responsibilities, designation or job role. The co-founders say the policy was implemented to ensure that the company is not reliant on any employee.

In February last year, the company had shared this policy update on LinkedIn, where an employee can get seven days off without any kind of work. It was started especially for people to recharge after a work-heavy big tournament.

“When a big tournament is approaching, the work-life balance may go for a toss. But once the tournament is over, a few days of being completely unplugged from work to recharge is an absolute must for every Dreamster. Hence, Dream11 offers Dream11 Unplug - an opportunity for our team members to completely cut off from all office work, related conversations and colleagues for a week. Yes, seven whole week days without any work pressure. Sounds like a dream come true, doesn’t it?” the company had written.

“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. Let’s be honest, after doing the hard yards when required, every Dreamster deserves an uninterrupted holiday,” the company continued in the LinkedIn post.

Employees seem to be happy with the policy.

"Unplugged helped me take that necessary strategic timeout and come back stronger to play the further innings more productively,” one employee wrote in the post as a testimonial.

“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,” another employee wrote.