By Diksha Madhok, CNN
Getting urgent work emails from colleagues even during vacation? This is a common occurrence for many white-collar workers, especially in India where employees feel overworked and underpaid compared to their global peers, according to several studies over the years.
But one Mumbai-based firm has come up with a novel way to fix this problem.
Dream11, a fantasy gaming platform, will fine its employees 100,000 rupees (NZ$1924.12) if they contact colleagues with "work-related calls or messages" during their time off.
This is part of the company's efforts to ensure that its employees get to "switch off and enjoy a healthy work-life balance," according to a statement shared by Dream11 with CNN.
Under the policy, called Unplug, employees log off from all office work for seven days in a year.
"Individuals who have opted for an unplugged leave are logged out of ... emails, Slack and WhatsApp groups," the statement added.
The spokesperson did not share when the policy was first introduced. According to a December interview with CNBC, the company's co-founders said the policy has been effective so far.
Founded in 2008, Dream11 has more than 1,000 employees, is valued at $8 billion and includes Tiger Global and Tencent among its investors, according to to data platform Tracxn.
Not taking a break can be dangerous for health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), working long hours is killing hundreds of thousands of people a year through stroke and heart disease.
In a global analysis of the link between loss of life, health and working long hours, WHO and the International Labour Organization estimated that in 2016, some 745,000 people died as a result of having worked at least 55 hours a week.
CNN
