“Please Go Home”: Indore Firm Uses Software To Promote Work-Life Balance
A tiny IT firm in Indore has developed software to alert workers when their shift is over and it’s time to go home as a novel way to ensure that they maintain a healthy work-life balance.
The software from Softgrid Computers has a notice feature that activates after a worker’s shift is done, informing them that “the office system will shut down in 10 mins” and pleading with them to “please go home.”
The action comes as studies and attention on the detrimental effects of extended work hours on employees’ relationships and health around the world have intensified. The World Health Organisation, for example, warned in 2021 that working 55 or more hours a week can lead to a 35% higher risk of stroke, and a 17% higher risk of dying from heart disease.
“The thought behind this is providing employees a good work-life balance so that they can spend time with their families and loved ones,” Chief Executive Ajay Golani told Reuters partner ANI.
An employee, Tanvi Khandelwal, shared a photo of the pop-up warning on a work computer, sparking a social media flurry.
One of the company’s 40 employees, Kritika Dubey, told ANI that the pop-up enabled her to depart on time and complete other obligations at home.
Picture Courtesy: Google/images are subject to copyright
