Dream11 introduces ‘UNPLUG’ policy to penalise employee with Rs 1 lakh for disturbing a co-worker on leave

Under
its
“Dream
11
Unplug”
policy,
the
company
has
mandated
that
no
employee
–
who
is
on
leave
or
vacation
–
is
disturbed
by
‘important’ office
calls,
emails
or
messages.

Heavy
fine
on
co-workers
for
breaking
the
rule

If
an
employee
contacts
his/her
fellow
colleague
–
who
is
on
a
leave
under
this
policy
–
for
a
work-related
call,
then
he/she
will
be
penalised
with
Rs
1
lakh.

The
“UNPLUG” policy
allows
the
staff
to
be
completely
cut
off
from
all
office-related
work
be
it
conversations
on
emails,
on
WhatsApp
groups,
Slack,
or
calls.
The
co-workers
should
not
disturb
the
employee
for
a
week.

Reason
behind
such
a
policy

Writing
about
the
UNPLUG
policy,
in
a
LinkedIn
post,
the
company
stated,
“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”.

The
popular
fantasy
gaming
company
claimed
the
reason
why
they
are
doing
this
is,
“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”.

Anyone
can
avail
UNPLUG
time
for
a
week
per
year

As
per
a
CNBC.com
report,
the
founders
of
this
Sports
technology
unicorn,
Harsh
Jain
and
Bhavit
Seth
claimed
that
if
any
co-worker
reaches
out
to
another
employee
during
the
“UNPLUG” time,
then
he/she
has
to
pay
a
fine
of
about
Rs
1
lakh
as
a
fine.

Everyone
in
the
company
from
top
bosses
to
a
new
joinee/fresher
can
sign
out
from
the
company’s
system
for
a
week
every
year
under
this
policy.

Jain
and
Seth
told
CNBC.com
they
have
adopted
this
principle
to
make
sure
their
company
is
not
reliant
on
either
one
of
them.

Testimonials
of
Dreamsters

On
LinkedIn,
Dream11
also
shared
some
of
the
testimonials
of
employees
–
whom
the
company
calls
‘Dreamsters’
–
in
the
Mumbai-based
company.

“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
said.

“Unplugged
helped
me
take
that
necessary
strategic
timeout
&
come
back
stronger
to
play
the
further
innings
more
productively,”
a
testimonial
reads.

Dream
11
was
founded
in
2008
and
is
one
of
the
most
popular
fantasy
gaming
platforms
in
the
country
with
over
15
crore
users
at
present.
Dream11
has
been
the
official
partner
of
the
International
Cricket
Council
(ICC)
and
in
the
year
2020,
it
also
became
the
title
sponsor
for
the
Indian
Premier
League
(IPL).
It
continues
to
be
one
of
the
fantasy
partners
of
the
IPL
and
the
ICC.