As the controversy over work hours continues, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, one of India's leading brokerage and financial services organizations, has implemented a policy requiring workers to "switch off" from work and emails after their predetermined shift timing of 8.0/8.5 hours.

The strategy, one of the first in corporate India, aims to improve employee wellbeing and productivity and is relevant to around 9,500 of the company's 11,000 employees, according to group chief HR officer Niren Srivastava. The new regulation applies to all employees, from senior management on down.

To ensure that the "switch off from work" policy is implemented effectively and uniformly, the broking house will shut down its email servers and employees will be logged off from sending or receiving emails, both internally and externally, after a 45-minute grace period following the shift hours that will be given to wrap up the day's work. Employees who stay in the office over their work schedule or shift time - as well as the additional 45-minute grace period - will be asked to leave.

"We believe that what matters is the employees' peace of mind, satisfaction, wellbeing, and productivity, not the number of hours worked," said Motilal Oswal, group managing director and CEO. "We are committed to seeing it through to completion." This strategy is critical because it allows our employees to prioritize their health and well-being." Compliance is the responsibility of the administration and human resources staff across all offices.

The batch of people excluded from this new rule are the top executives and employees from private equity, asset & wealth management and investment banking “who have their own work schedules”, said the CHRO. Also, flexibility will be extended to all business units for exceptions based on specific business requirements.

"What counts are the productive hours." The human brain becomes overloaded after 8.0-8.5 hours, and we should not underestimate the extra commuting time. "Our philosophy is that we expect people to arrive and leave on time," Srivastava said. "Work starts essentially when one leaves home and ends when one reaches back home, so organizations also need to factor in the 3-4 hours travel time that people sometimes spend in Metro cities," she went on to say.

"The policy will be expanded in the next phase to restrict access to business-specific applications during designated switch-off hours." "This will be tailored to role mappings and in collaboration with respective business teams," Srivastava went on to say. "We have a mechanism in place to do dipsticks on how this is working for both employees and management and welcome all escalations/concerns of any," Srivastava went on to say.

"Switch-Off" from Work Policy aims to nurture employees' physical, mental, and emotional well-being in order to increase employee productivity and allow time for leisure activities.

What exactly does the policy entail?

• Email servers will be shut down, and employees will be barred from sending or receiving emails beyond shift hours.

• Employees that remain in the office after their shift has ended will be asked to leave.

• Administrative and human resources staff will ensure compliance across all offices.