Thoughts on the controversial comment made by Narayan Murthy sir.
When I saw a meme on this comment, I thought it was hilarious and must have been a joke. I checked online. It wasn't a joke.
But does it make sense? Really? I wanted to look at this from a non-biased perspective (letting go of my stress and burnout facilitator mode to ensure I am not triggered and hooked on this comment).
And the best way to do that was look at it from a daily schedule perspective... atleast for me.
Let's break this down with a hypothetical scenario, where we are looking at as close of an healthy lifestyle as we can.
6 day work week - with about 11.5 hours a day looks close to 69 hours. (hehe, sorry... I will be professional)
7:15 AM - Freshen Up + Head to Gym/Practice Yoga/Exercise
7:45 AM - Get back home + Get ready for work
8 AM - Cook your breakfast + Eat it
8:20 AM - Leave for Work (Let's take about 40 minutes to reach your workplace as a norm)
9:10 PM - Reach Home + Freshen Up
9:20 PM - Cook Dinner + Eat
9:45 PM - Clean up + Clean House and complete daily chores
10:20 PM - Finish everything up + Spend time with those you love... who are potentially already fast asleep by that point.
11 PM - Start relaxing/work on a potential passion project
Now is this routine doable?
Is this routine something that we can be consistent with?
- No time to spend with those we care and love. This is a fast track route for the loneliness epidemic. (Note that Loneliness is really crucial and can drive us into depression. We are social animals and need to interact with fellow humans). Human connection becomes an after thought.
- No down time can lead to stress piling up with no healthy way to release it.
- People literally feeling institiutionalized with spending 11+ hours a day in the office. This can lead to high tension, and potentially lead to a lot of work conflicts.
- Working for this long can lead to our minds feeling mushy, and us not being able to communicate in a healthy manner, leading to creation of toxic work cultures and separation of sorts.
- For the demand of working 70 hours a week, are the employees being paid accordingly? If this scenario works on a lower salary range, it eventually will lead to high turnovers as employees might not feel fulfiled at the end of the day when comparing the time spent versus the returns delivered.
- With no time to relax and reset on a regular basis, we are heading to a potential burnout scenario faster than we can recognize. We only have a day for us, Sunday, which after the hectic week, we potentially spend crashing.
- We are not robots. We can't just shift from one command to another. There is no time to manage your emotions, develop healthier habits, do something that nourishes us as individuals.
- Physical, Emotional, and Mental Health takes a backseat in this scenario, because quite literally, we don't have the time or the energy to focus on ourselves after an exhausting day.
- We are not made to simply work. The minute this mindset takes over, we become slaves to the productivity capitalistic behaviour, where we exist solely to work, and nothing else.
- 11.5 hours a day doesn't really mean that we will be productive throughout the day. We start to move away from a results oriented mindset to let's chain ourselves to the work desk and stay there. Even if we can't work, we are going to stick around and just exist.
Is this really a direction we need to be moving towards as we progress?
I personally, don't think so. And this is with the best case scenario. What about those individuals who have over 2 hours of commute route to take to reach their office? That's 4 hours gone in simply travelling on a daily basis!
I don't think this is the answer to growing and building our economy.
- This is not about staying in our comfort zone, but rather to progress and grow sustainably and comfortably.
- This is not about not working hard enough. You can work for 5 hours a day with complete focus and still get the work done. Working lesser hours and lesser days does not mean we are shying away from hard work. It means we are bringing together hard and smart work to be more efficient.
- This is not about being entitled. It's about understanding that today's economic and world scenario is completely different than that of the older generations. It is about understanding that because they were potentially caught in this cycle of 70 hours a week, that they ensured there kids don't go down that same route. It is about understanding that we can now stand up and take a stand to speak about our needs, wants, and necessities.
- It is not about not being loyal to the company or the growth of our country. It is about ensuring that we are focusing on our personal journeys on a daily basis rather than doing it when we are 65 years old.
If this scenario runs any longer, we will definitely start noticing today's youth stepping out of big corporations, and choosing to either start their own businesses and/or freelance.
I can go on and on about this, but I would love to hear your thoughts! Comment below and let's have a discussion of what a healthy workforce and workplace looks like!
Data-Driven CRM Professional | Driving Conversions | Building Strong Connections for Success | Fuelling Growth
1 年The focus should be on achieving goals effectively and efficiently, rather than measuring success solely by the amount of time spent at work. Embracing a balanced approach to work not only benefits individuals by allowing them to lead more fulfilling lives but also contributes to the overall success and longevity of organisations. Working fewer hours and days can be a strategic move towards a more productive and sustainable future.
Creative Content Specialist | Turning Ideas into Impactful Words
1 年Nicely put :) But Narayanamurthy Sir was referring to the people with goals. Like if you want to achieve something, make a name, or build a company, you should aim for 70 hours + a week solely for your work. The term "youngsters" refer to the people in early years of their career like : when they are 20 to 30 years old, when they have just passed out of the college, when they have lot of enthusiasm & energy to learn, work & achieve, and most importantly when they don't have family or other commitments :) And when a person of his size, caliber & experience say something, there is nothing wrong in listening, making a note and trying it out. Because, if he hadn't worked that way, Infosys and the name Narayana Murthy wouldn't have been this Big. He is just trying to Motivate the youngsters and the nation as a whole :)
Siemens Technology and Services Private Ltd.
1 年“[I]ntegrity is choosing our thoughts and actions based on values rather than personal gain.? And We were all to?judged by our thoughts.” “Follow the Voluntary behavior line. Those dedicated people who believe in all work. We have the confidence or take the risks and transcend all conflicts as we finally become our own potential.” “Work on ourself first, take responsibility for our own progress.”?? i.e...... Life long guarantee work agreement. "Less expectations in life,?more comfort..!?" ?What do you say?
Chemistry Teacher, Maths Tutor,and Education Entrepreneur runing Mastermind groups for business people, teachers, and anyone enjoying personal development.
1 年Yes, but will they do it?