Motilal Oswal Financial Services, one of India’s leading brokerage and financial services companies, has introduced a unique policy to prioritize the well-being and productivity of its employees. The policy, known as the “Switch-Off from Work Policy,” allows employees to disconnect from work and email outside of their fixed 8.0/8.5 hour shift schedule.
This policy, one of the first of its kind in India, applies to about 9,500 of the company’s 11,000 employees, including senior executives and those below their level. The aim is to improve the well-being of employees and ensure good health Work-life balanceGroup Chief HR Officer Niren Srivastava told ET.
To effectively implement the policy, Motilal Oswal Financial Services will shut down its email servers, preventing employees from sending or receiving emails internally and externally. This occurs after a 45-minute grace period after the end of the shift so that employees can complete their day’s work. In addition, all employees who exceed their working hours, including the grace period, must leave the office premises.
Motilal Oswal, Managing Director and CEO of the group, emphasized that the focus is not on the number of hours worked, but rather on the peace of mind, satisfaction, well-being and productivity of employees. The company firmly believes that the health and well-being of its employees must be a priority, and this policy gives them the freedom to do so, Oswal said.

The administrative and human resources teams are responsible for ensuring compliance with the policy across all offices. However, top executives and employees in private equity, asset & wealth management and investment banking are exempt from this regulation due to their specific working hours. Flexibility is also granted to other business areas based on specific business needs.
Srivastava explained that the focus should be on productive hours and not the number of hours worked. The human brain reaches saturation after 8.0 to 8.5 hours and the additional commute time should not be underestimated, he said. He added that work essentially starts when you leave the house and ends when you come back. Therefore, companies must take into account the three to four hours of travel time that employees spend in major cities.

In the next phase, the policy will expand to restrict access to business-specific applications during designated “downtimes.” The implementation is tailored to different roles and determined in consultation with the respective business teams. Motilal Oswal Financial Services has implemented this policy after thorough discussions and agreements with CEOs and department heads.
In addition, HR teams are actively sensitizing managers about the policy and have a mechanism in place to monitor its effectiveness. They welcome all escalations and concerns from employees and management.