THE BLACK SNOWConsequent to the India's current state of affairs with respect to Corruption and Misgovernance, even the 'Snow' has turned Black—the obvious have also lost its credibility.
BUY NOW
BIG BOSS'BIG BOSS' is a scoop about a fervent professional who joins many firms in anticipation of getting a conducive work environment and an ideal 'Boss' in each.

BUY NOW

Mr. Subrahmanyan, we can stare at our wife forever!

Reference Articlehttps://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/how-long-can-you-stare-at-your-wife-lt-chief-advocates-90-hour-work-week/articleshow/117087948.cms?from=mdr

Reference Articlehttps://www.hindustantimes.com/trending/lt-chairman-s-90-hour-work-week-remark-reflects-larger-ambition-says-company-101736428145966.html

Reference Articlehttps://www.businesstoday.in/india/story/new-year-2025-infosys-narayana-murthy-lt-chairman-90-hour-work-week-corporates-work-life-balance-social-media-reactions-460124-2025-01-09

Highly-positioned Leaders should watch their mouth before they spit out unjust words from their mouth. Being in a Leadership position and having an immense potential to influence 'productive' Labour Laws in India, such influential Leaders make it worse every day.

“How long can you stare at your wife?” says SN Subrahmanyan, Chairman of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Infotech, advocating for 90-hour workweek.

In the year 2023, one of the great industrialist and philanthropist, Mr Narayan Murthy (Co-Founder of an Indian IT behemoth, Infosys) mentioned that Indians should work for 70 hours per week, and now we have another industrialist, Mr. Subrahmanyan (Chairman, Larsen & Toubro Infotech) taking it few more notches ahead to mention it to be a 90-hour workweek.

The Infosys founder in a 2023 interview said that youngsters should work 70 hours a week if India wants to compete with economies that have made tremendous progress in the last two to three decades. “India's work productivity is one of the lowest in the world.”

Being the most populous nation of the world, and having great brains and hands at the disposal, why are we still not productive in our daily work lives. Inspite of being the fifth largest economy of the world, India is NOT even in top 40 labour productive nations. India stands at the 133rd position in productivity rankings.

Employees made to work for longer hours by organizations led by such Leaders and Managers, irrespective of the impact it would have on their mental & physical health, leave aside the work-life balance they are entitled to. The self-growth and self-accomplishments ride high on such myopic Leader’s vision.

They even don’t care to go to an extent to deride their 'wife' through their illogical comments, as if the 'wives' are part of their furniture that you can’t stare at for long and need to be replaced when they are not interesting anymore. Such a shame on the thought and more shame on the leader of mega business conglomerate to even say so in public.

Such people are so ignorant (or choose to be one) to realize that every workforce member is earning & living for their families, driving force of which is a ‘wife’ who takes care of everything at home, when the workforce slogs for longer hours in the office and has no time to be spent at home, in society and pursuing their passion.

When many of the productive nations like many in European Union, already working effectively for 40 hours per week and now trying to go even to 32 hours of flexible working week, we have few Leaders in India who are trying to be the blue-eyed boy of their Company’s Board by showing their 'drooling’ loyalty towards them.

Mr. Subrahmanyan's whole idea it seems is that the European and American labour is costlier in comparison to the Indian one. So such statements are in the favour of organizations like yours, as they will hire cheep labour and make the Indian workforce work for longer hours. So this arrangement is beneficial for such organization's long-term strategy, as they know India is an excellent producer of cheap labour because of the unrealistic Education policies and system India had for decades after its independence, where the whole focus was getting the higher education, but not on the quality of basic and primary education. Therefore, such organizations expect to have an endless supply of cheap labour from India.

Moreover, Mr. Subrahmanyanvery well knows that due to 'natural selection' after imperialism of more than 200 years, the population or gene pool left in India is of 'compulsive & impulsive slave' mindeset--all the great minds & professionals either have been 'sacrificed' in one way or the other or have left the country--so for white collar slavery objective, he plans to further exploit the workforce that couldn't 'flee' the country.

When 'work from home' is not an option in India, commuting from home to one's office is a pain, then when an employee reaches office somersaulting through the snarling traffic, their Manager gives further pain by demanding more work hours from them. Taking leaves for personal well-being and family matters is discouraged through various veiled means, like the impact on the annual performance appraisals, no career growth or progression, reducing responsibilities, and the likes.

Even if employees are productive by the virtue of their own skills, knowledge and intend to be the best in whatever task they are assigned to, complete a job on time on a day, and plan to leave office on time, while the Manager is still in the office, is considered a sin & an revolt against the Manager and the organization. An Indian worker (usually sincere, honest and committed) already gives his life to an organization in terms of time it invests and heart it lends; further on top of it, such comments from towering position holders (will refrain to call them Leaders anymore) hurt the workforce, as the comments communicate an intent of such leaders to continue living in an era of ‘slavery’ & ‘servitude’.

As an IT professional myself and have been working in the industry for many years now, my two paisa on such rash and inappropriate behaviour of the Industry Leaders:

  • Please try to work with the Government of India to refine labour laws to make them ‘productive’ than ‘reproductive’.
  • Please try to be a Leader by earning trust of your workforce, and not by sheer sledging them.
  • Behave in a way that shows compassion, empathy and civility, and not in a way that shows irrationality, absurdity and alienatity.

Sharing some relevant quotes below from the book, 'Big Boss'...a Story of Every Professional (authored by MVP):

  • When someone joins a firm, the ears yearn for colleagues, the eyes yearn for culture, but a heart always falls for a caring and sharing boss’::MVP::
  • ‘A boss and subordinate aren’t competitors, but co-athletes of a marathon running towards the same rope’::MVP::
  • ‘An ideal boss is selfless and the sole purpose of its existence in any firm is the amelioration of its adjuvants’::MVP::
  • ‘Empathy is must, apathy is not a boss’s virtue’::MVP::
  • ‘An apt and a successful boss helps the subordinate get their right of respectful, dignified stint and separation from the firm’::MVP::

‘Morning happens, evening goes, and the night sets in

Saga flares the hope of another day’s rings’

 

(Article by)

-Mahesh Vallabh Pandey

IT Professional, Author, Blogger, Writer, Poet, Podcaster, Philanthropist