Vacations are strictly a time to relax for the majority of workers around the world. An annoying business call from a colleague is the last thing they want while relaxing on a warm beach or hiking in the hills.
However, such calls and urgent work-related requests are not uncommon and can ruin a long-planned vacation. An Indian company has a solution for this.
Employees at Mumbai-based Dream11, which operates a fantasy sports platform, will be fined 100,000 rupees (approximately $1,200) if they contact a colleague while on leave, co-founder Bhavit Sheth told CNBC in an interview. The company, which was founded in 2008, requires employees to take at least one week off per year.
“You are kicked out of the system once a year for one week,” Sheth told the channel. “You do not have Slack, emails, or phone calls. Because having that one week of uninterrupted time benefits you greatly, and it benefits the business to know whether we are dependent on anyone.”
“Dream11 believes that this uninterrupted time allows Dreamsters (Dream11 employees) to relax, recharge, and return to work ready to give their all,” the company said in a statement.
The fine is an eye-catching way to give workers a well-deserved break. Many other companies, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., are allowing employees to take unlimited vacations in order to retain talent. However, a UK recruiting firm announced last year that it would discontinue that policy because the perk made employees feel guilty and made them question how many days they were really supposed to take.