Company Finds Hilarious Way To Get Employees To Stop Working Beyond Their Hours

Stone Age hunter-gatherers worked only 3-4 hours a day, gathering food and spending the rest of the time on other leisure activities. Roman artisans worked only 6 hours a day and then quit. Work-life balance is something that every worker needs. It is not a luxury, but a necessity. While a large portion of employees around the world are struggling with burnout and work stress, an Indian tech company has come up with an innovative method to ensure that its employees are not overworked, NBC News reported.

When SoftGrid Computers employees’ working hours are over, a message appears on their computer screens, flashing “Attention!!!” text. The message reads, “Your working hours are over. The office system will shut down in 10 minutes. PLEASE GO HOME!” These computers are equipped with a notification system that triggers as soon as an employee’s work is over. This positive measure went viral a year ago when a LinkedIn post was shared by Tanvi Khandelwal, a human resources specialist at SoftGrid Computers in Indore, India.

“My employer supports #WorkLifeBalance. They have set up this special reminder, which locks my computer after work hours and gives a warning,” Tanvi wrote in the post. The post quickly went viral, with over 400,000 likes and 7,000 comments.

Speaking to NBC News, Tanvi said that “work-life balance” is one of the keystones of growing a business. While slacking off at work is inappropriate, overworking is equally detrimental, both to the employee and the business. When one person on a team consistently works long hours, other team members may feel like they have to do the same. This can lead to the employee feeling burned out in the long run.

Shweta Shukla, co-founder and CEO of SoftGrid, said she and her partners took the initiative to prioritize and maintain an overall work-life balance among their 40 employees, who often stayed late to attend to client and office demands. “Finding this solution was a brainstorming effort between all the partners,” she explained. “Since the pandemic, we are all facing challenges of extra work and lack of social aspects of our daily lives, like quality time with our families and loved ones.” Shukla added that they chose to use the pop-up because it is “more fun and engaging than an email or a memo.”

When employees saw this pop-up on their screens, they thought it was a prank, Tanvi said. But once they saw the bigger picture, they started liking the idea because it gave them the freedom to set their work boundaries.

The initiative was also welcomed by many outside the company. Ramana Boyani, a Singaporean employee, said in a LinkedIn post, “I love this idea. Your computer will turn off after your office hours. Getting 7-8 hours of sleep regularly is a dream for most of us.” Alisha Lobo commented, “A great initiative to maintain a healthy work-life balance for employees!!!” Knocksense, an Indian content platform, called it a “refreshing initiative.”

Tanvi also revealed that many other HR employees have reached out to her on social media asking her to do something similar in their companies. With a simple software, the company is bringing about a positive change in the workplace scenario. “I’m a fan,” said speaker and author Mark Crowley about the company on X.