The Chairman and MD of L&T, one of the largest business
conglomerates in India, shares a rather absurd and shocking view in one of his
interviews. He, nonchalantly, says that he regrets he cannot make employees
work even on Sundays and, to add to the absurdity, goes to the extent of
asking, " how long will you stare at your wife’s face". According to
him, it seems, employees should work 90 hours a week.
These provocative statements, cleverly covered under the
wraps off so called, " complete dedication", and " sacrifice for
the growth of the country" slogans, clearly shows a shift in our economic,
cultural, moral and ethical values, where human rights are given lesser
attention.
How many hours an employee should work is an ongoing debate.
While we debate on this topic, we should never forget the general agreement
that a person's life should be balanced between his work, leisure and personal
and social relationships and responsibilities. Any decision disturbing this
balance can have huge impact on the basic tapestry of life.
Let us examine these comments more closely. As per his
statement, a person should work 15 hours a day, 6 days a week!!!! Consider the
time for your sleep and commuting to work, you are left out with no time in a
day for anything else. The question here is what are we - both as an individual
and as a nation- going to gain out of this? Will it not turn the employees to a mere
machines, eroding them of all their human qualities? What about the high number of
women who are working? Do they also have to work for 90 hours a week? Or, are
they supposed to sit at home and stare at the blank wall? Do we have to take
children into consideration? There can be so many such valid questions and i
leave it to the discretion of each reader to raise them and answer them.
Let us get on to the next point. He asks, " how long
can a person stare at his wife". By making such a horrendous statement, is
he not reducing a WIFE (and thus a WOMAN) to a lifeless object to just stare
at? I suppose wife is much more than something to stare at. She is a vital link
of the family and thus plays an undeniable role in holding the social fabric
together. Even if someone is spending his free time to stare at his wife what
is wrong in that? It is high time these highflying managers knew that the wife
is not an object to just stare at, but an emotional being to share your life with. And life does not mean
your job. These leaders should somewhere register in their super human mind that they
are not only responsible to their company, but are equally, if not more,
responsible to their family, friends and society.
Today the buzz word is " smart working" and that
is not measured by the number of hours a person worked. An employee is
evaluated by his efficiency. Forcing someone to work for so many hours is
tantamount to slavery. Such a situation will not help the nation to move an
inch forward. A business leader will become successful if he or she develops an
ecosystem which can nurture and nourish the talents of his team members, rather
than sucking out their energy by increasing their working hours.
Researchers have, unequivocally, confirmed that relationship
is the most important element for a human being to lead a happy and meaningful
life. Health experts’ emphasis on the importance of maintaining a harmonious
work-life balance. The new generation, who are extremely talented and
efficient, always demand flexibility. Pandemic taught us, beyond all doubts,
that hybrid model of working is highly effective.
Blurting out such inhumane and impractical suggestion, while
the whole world strive to create a better working atmosphere, shows either lack
of fundamental wisdom, or demonstrate unwanted zealousness to prove that the
person is more loyal than the company itself.
This, I feel, is another proof that many leaders at the top are still narrow minded, condescending, selfish, misogynists to some extent and think only about their benefits. They, probably have failed to understand the aspirations and ambitions of the new generations. It is high time they learned more about compassion and human values. They should be wise enough to understand there is nothing wrong in staring at your wife and majority are capable of doing it. They should realize that many of the wives are also working and if both of them are going to spend ninety hours a week at their work then the whole system will collapse. Family is not an enterprise run for the sake of profits. It needs undivided attention of all its members. Allow the family to survive. Let the employees complete their responsibilities at work in a reasonable time, stare at their wives at home and lead a peaceful and meaningful life.
