Zee extends ‘no mobile phone in office’ policy to all group companies

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) has banned employees across all its group companies from using mobile phones in office. In April 2015, ZEEL implemented this rule at the offices of Zee Entertainment. On 16th July 2015, it was extended to offices of all group companies, including Mumbai-based newspaper DNA.

The thinking behind the move, according to an editorial employee at the company, is that “People tend to misuse social networking sites inside office.” Tools such as Whatsapp, while used for official purposes, can be distracting as it’s also used to chat with friends. “So management is trying to curb the unwanted usage of these platforms during work hours”, the employee explained.

But such a policy will not increase productivity. “What might happen is journalists will find ways to stay away from reporting to office and work from outside”, the employee said.

Top officials at the Zee Group admit that the policy is facing a lot of opposition from senior managers in different group companies. “So the policy might not be there for too long,” one of them told ET.