Volkswagen stops employee email to BlackBerry smartphones after work hours
German car maker Volkswagen has taken a step toward making employees much happier by coming to an agreement to stop work emails from being delivered to employee BlackBerry smartphones after work hours. The plan states that no internal work emails will be delivered from 30 minutes after the end of a shift until 30 minutes prior to returning to work. This is a huge step in the workplace as many have complained for years that having a work device and being constantly connected just isn't right as it places strain on both work and home life. The devices will still be able to make phone calls and the changes do not apply to senior management. This is a huge step that is sure to make many Volkswagen employees extremely happy and some other companies will certainly look to follow these changes as well.
Source: BBC
Beesh1 Dec 23, 2011 at 9:18 am
First!! I was reading about this earlier today, it just shows how important Blackberrys are...VW are a major car manufacturer and for them to do this is just great for its employees!
sk8er_tor Dec 23, 2011 at 9:33 am
It's up to the user to not get other accustomed to replying to emails after hours.
OniPod Dec 23, 2011 at 10:43 am
Some employers seem to think that just because an employee can be contacted at any time, it is perfectly acceptable to do so. Employees know that there are an awful lot of people and few positions in the workforce. Sometimes that may translate as going the extra mile, and answering e-mails and such during off time. What the folks at Volks have done is pretty cool in my opinion.
BaconMunch Dec 23, 2011 at 9:34 am
Is the ability to do so a BES settings or an exchange server (corporate email) one?
jgenn3 Dec 23, 2011 at 1:55 pm
I have been looking to do this for certain users and not the whole company. There is not a policy in BES Express to do this on a per user basis. Perhaps in the full BES version. On the Exchange side you can only restrict logon hours for the Active directory account but since the BESAdmin account connects to the Exchange mailbox if you restriced that account it would affect everyone.
96Ag Dec 23, 2011 at 9:36 am
Wow, do they also chew their food for them at lunch time?
green_ember Dec 23, 2011 at 10:19 am
I like this move. It shows they aren't pressuring employees to work in their free time. Sure you can say it's up to the user, but this demonstrates a commitment to work-life balance that is getting harder and harder to find in today's increasingly competitive job market. Employees now don't have to worry about whether or not it will be held against them if they don't immediately respond even while not at work. Kudos to VW
moyjoy Dec 23, 2011 at 12:09 pm
that's pretty cool... but then why have a blackberry???
HofstraJet Dec 23, 2011 at 12:26 pm
This is a huge employment law issue that is raging right now as to whether time spent using a BlackBerry for work emails after hours is considered work and should be compensated at hourly rates - if so, imagine the overtime they (or any other company) would have to pay. That is likely why they did this - to avoid the potential (or maybe already existing) lawsuits regarding this issue. Note that management doesn't get this privilege - that is because they are not hourly employees and this issue doesn't apply to them.
Bold_until_Hybrid_Comes Dec 23, 2011 at 3:19 pm
Vw is poised to overtake toyota as the worlds largest automobile manufacturer this year. Wir haben recht
lkveggie Dec 31, 2011 at 9:40 pm
This is awesome news, coming along with my recent purchase of my first Volkswagen! Awesome news, great post!