Hello Hetal,
While the other members have given very valuable and practical suggestions based on their experiences, I would like to highlight a basic human factor: by nature, human beings are wired to work without breaks for longer durations in the daytime rather than during nighttime. So unless you break the monotony of the work each of them does—either by way of some leisure/recreation activities during the night shifts OR switch the work from one activity to another—like the saying goes: "Relaxation is nothing but a change of work." Maybe you can plan role changes/rotation among the team members. Just give this a thought.
Coming to your query, "employees are allowed to work at the same time while they are working with us," many companies actually bar such avocations by the employees as this has the scope to create a loss or diffusion of focus towards the company's work by the employee(s).
However, you mentioned this regarding one employee—is this found with only one or many employees? If not, you would need to figure out the reasons for the others.
Like all the members suggested, a full-team meeting could give you some leads (obviously you can't expect many employees to clearly state the actual reasons for sleeping on duty, unless they are very honest by nature)—this also depends on YOUR body language; IF you are PERCEIVED as being probing for taking any harsh/punitive measures, none will come out with the ACTUAL reasons. Hope you get the point.
You can then pursue/probe further to get to the truth and then begin implementing corrective measures.
Regards,
TS
From India, Hyderabad
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1700While the other members have given very valuable and practical suggestions based on their experiences, I would like to highlight a basic human factor: by nature, human beings are wired to work without breaks for longer durations in the daytime rather than during nighttime. So unless you break the monotony of the work each of them does—either by way of some leisure/recreation activities during the night shifts OR switch the work from one activity to another—like the saying goes: "Relaxation is nothing but a change of work." Maybe you can plan role changes/rotation among the team members. Just give this a thought.
Coming to your query, "employees are allowed to work at the same time while they are working with us," many companies actually bar such avocations by the employees as this has the scope to create a loss or diffusion of focus towards the company's work by the employee(s).
However, you mentioned this regarding one employee—is this found with only one or many employees? If not, you would need to figure out the reasons for the others.
Like all the members suggested, a full-team meeting could give you some leads (obviously you can't expect many employees to clearly state the actual reasons for sleeping on duty, unless they are very honest by nature)—this also depends on YOUR body language; IF you are PERCEIVED as being probing for taking any harsh/punitive measures, none will come out with the ACTUAL reasons. Hope you get the point.
You can then pursue/probe further to get to the truth and then begin implementing corrective measures.
Regards,
TS
From India, Hyderabad
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I have gone through all the above suggestions. There is something called Responsibility and Accountability. Please identify the Supervisors who are accountable for customer service, productivity, etc. The Team Leader has to be held responsible. He is the Team Leader for supervising the team members; he has to be held accountable for the lapses of his team members. Actually, if he is facing any such problems in his team, it is his job to scale up the issue to higher levels to resolve the same. Despite offering so many sops, if the employees are found wanting in discharging their duties, they can be warned, reprimanded, and ultimately sent home packing. India has a huge population and you can always get better employees who are disciplined. Either the errant employees can be counseled, motivated, and trained to change their attitude or if nothing works out, then turn them out... maybe as the last resort. Tell them in advance what will happen. If they are biologically unsuitable for the kind of work, better replace them with people who can work. If they are not suitable for this kind of work, they should not have been employed at all in the first place!
From India, Bengaluru
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From India, Bengaluru
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Our traditionally Indian governments at the federal and state levels have always made an effort to ensure a high degree of protection for workers. For instance, a permanent worker can only be terminated for proven misconduct or habitual absence. Sleeping during a night shift can be considered misconduct and may be escalated by issuing more than three memos to address the behavior, withholding any increments and promotions citing misconduct in the remark sections.
In the Uttam Nakate case, the Bombay High Court ruled that dismissing an employee for repeated sleeping on the factory floor was illegal, a decision that was later overturned by the Supreme Court of India. Additionally, it took two decades to complete the legal process.
In 2008, the World Bank criticized the complexity, lack of modernization, and flexibility in Indian regulations. Therefore, according to labor law, handling this issue with labor unions and reservation cadres could be very complicated.
From India, Hyderabad
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In the Uttam Nakate case, the Bombay High Court ruled that dismissing an employee for repeated sleeping on the factory floor was illegal, a decision that was later overturned by the Supreme Court of India. Additionally, it took two decades to complete the legal process.
In 2008, the World Bank criticized the complexity, lack of modernization, and flexibility in Indian regulations. Therefore, according to labor law, handling this issue with labor unions and reservation cadres could be very complicated.
From India, Hyderabad
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Dear Hetal ji,
Up till now, all the responses have been from HR Managers. This is the response from the IR Manager regarding your issue.
Being found sleeping while on duty is considered misconduct for which the employee is liable for disciplinary action. If you do not take disciplinary action against such an employee, you may face action from your management.
Therefore, please make the case concrete, issue an SCN/Charge sheet, conduct a domestic enquiry, and take disciplinary action against the employee within the framework of the law so that there will be a deterrent effect on others. If you require an enquiry officer, please feel free to call me. Nowadays, there are no jobs for professional enquiry officers.
From India, Mumbai
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Up till now, all the responses have been from HR Managers. This is the response from the IR Manager regarding your issue.
Being found sleeping while on duty is considered misconduct for which the employee is liable for disciplinary action. If you do not take disciplinary action against such an employee, you may face action from your management.
Therefore, please make the case concrete, issue an SCN/Charge sheet, conduct a domestic enquiry, and take disciplinary action against the employee within the framework of the law so that there will be a deterrent effect on others. If you require an enquiry officer, please feel free to call me. Nowadays, there are no jobs for professional enquiry officers.
From India, Mumbai
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Most of the query has been answered. I am still highlighting a few points.
It is very important first to understand the nature of the business your organization is in and the timelines or deadlines that have been set to complete the tasks, i.e., the organization's goals and vision.
Also, HR policies and guidelines set by the organization that are approved by management.
KPO stands for Knowledge Process Outsourcing, which involves gathering or collecting information about anything a client may require.
Such organizations have a different organizational structure compared to a general structure. Some KPOs may have high stress levels, whereas some may have lower stress levels.
Generally, in terms of HR or management, they try to comfort their employees since working hours are sometimes extended, especially in 24x7 operations where shifts are involved. One must be careful, especially during night shifts. As many have rightly said, there should be surprise visits, CCTV monitoring, but sometimes it may not be effective. If the workforce is equally important as well, the option of penalties should be considered. Stress levels and the work environment should also be taken into account.
If employees are overstressed, you may consider creating a panic room where an employee feeling sleepy can take a power nap, listen to music, or engage in some activity to feel relaxed and fresh before returning to work. However, sleeping on the desk should not be allowed, and supervisors should ensure this rule is followed. Monitoring supervisors remotely via CCTV is feasible through technology.
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Overall, the text has been corrected for spelling, grammar, punctuation errors, and paragraph formatting. The meaning and tone of the original message have been preserved.
From India, Mumbai
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It is very important first to understand the nature of the business your organization is in and the timelines or deadlines that have been set to complete the tasks, i.e., the organization's goals and vision.
Also, HR policies and guidelines set by the organization that are approved by management.
KPO stands for Knowledge Process Outsourcing, which involves gathering or collecting information about anything a client may require.
Such organizations have a different organizational structure compared to a general structure. Some KPOs may have high stress levels, whereas some may have lower stress levels.
Generally, in terms of HR or management, they try to comfort their employees since working hours are sometimes extended, especially in 24x7 operations where shifts are involved. One must be careful, especially during night shifts. As many have rightly said, there should be surprise visits, CCTV monitoring, but sometimes it may not be effective. If the workforce is equally important as well, the option of penalties should be considered. Stress levels and the work environment should also be taken into account.
If employees are overstressed, you may consider creating a panic room where an employee feeling sleepy can take a power nap, listen to music, or engage in some activity to feel relaxed and fresh before returning to work. However, sleeping on the desk should not be allowed, and supervisors should ensure this rule is followed. Monitoring supervisors remotely via CCTV is feasible through technology.
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Overall, the text has been corrected for spelling, grammar, punctuation errors, and paragraph formatting. The meaning and tone of the original message have been preserved.
From India, Mumbai
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Well, if the employees have recently been moved to the night shift, give them some time to settle down. Otherwise, you can give them a warning, and it would be better if you place CCTV cameras to monitor and record their activities.
From India, Lucknow
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From India, Lucknow
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According to me, this is a management problem. Please tell me if any increment process is done in the factory. If yes, what is the issue? It is a common behavior for everyone to be in a sleeping mode, meaning some are goofing off without all acting the same way. Please identify the issue between management and employees and then consider another approach.
From India, Pune
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From India, Pune
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hello dear senior, we have found our employee slipping in working hrs. i need your guidance to issue 6 days suspension to that employee. request to you please guide. regards, Ganesh Gaikwad
From India, Pune
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From India, Pune
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Sleeping while on duty, though it is an act of indiscipline and misconduct, you can impose punishment based on the merit of the case.
If the act of sleeping is his first instance, you should advise/caution him. Any repetition of the act calls for a warning. If he commits this act again, then you can award the punishment after completing all procedural formalities.
From India, Aizawl
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If the act of sleeping is his first instance, you should advise/caution him. Any repetition of the act calls for a warning. If he commits this act again, then you can award the punishment after completing all procedural formalities.
From India, Aizawl
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