SUGGESTION FOR 90 WORKING HOUR PER WEEK NOT TO BE RIDICULED – By N.S.Venkataraman
The recent remarks by Chairman of a large Corporate group Larsen & Toubro in India suggesting that employees should work 90 hours a week in India have been ridiculed by trade unions , association of employees and several others. Earlier, almost similar suggestion for long working hours every day was made by the founder Director of Infosys , which was also heavily criticized by cross section of people.
Critics termed such suggestion as impracticable, ridiculous , inhuman and totally outrageous . However, a section of people have not rejected such suggestion outright and have pointed out that the spirit behind such suggestion must be understood and appreciated ,even if the critics feel that suggestion is unacceptable for them. Certainly, much more serious thought and consideration should be given to the suggestions made by two very important corporate leaders with several years of proven track record of excellent standards and widely perceived to be persons with high level of commitment to work culture and progress of the country .
The fact is that working long hours everyday is not unusual and it need not cause surprise .
.It is very well known that in India today housewives work more than twelve hours a day in cooking, looking after the children and family members and taking care of the household requirements. While they may not be working for twelve hours at single stretch everyday, they certainly do so in toto.
Even working women in India are known to not only work in offices or factories and after returning home , most of them continue to work to take care of children, family members and attend to other household duties.
Self employed persons, particularly in tiny scale such as shop keepers, hawkers and those having tiny workshops are known to work for long hours everyday, may be round 12 hours or even more on some days. Of course, agricultural workers too are known to work for long hours physically toiling on the field. There are other persons working in other areas such as construction activities , security functions , policemen also work long hours. The military personnel posted in remote areas cannot complain about working long hours and they do not even meet family members for several months.
With the work from home becoming an acceptable form of work culture in India today, working ninety hours a week may not be that arduous as it is made to look.
What is important to note here is that when the job carried out by the person and the personal taste of the person become same and synonymous, then the individual really start enjoying the work and long working hours will not be a pain but a pleasure for such persons.
When 90 hours work a week is suggested , it certainly does not mean that the person would not avail holiday and work 90 hours week all thorough the year. Certainly , this suggestion should not be misinterpreted with a view that humans are sought to be converted to human machine. This is not the concept at all.
Finally, the persons who have made the suggestion have not asked for any legislation from the government to implement their suggestion. All they have done is to appeal to everyone to introspect over the suggestion , which will make them realise the significance and importance of sustained work culture that would not only improve the quality of life but also aid in promoting the economic growth of the country.
Those who consider such suggestion as outrageous are those who work in organized sector keeping an eye on the clock. If such persons are prompted to think about putting forth sustained and hard work without looking at the clock , then the object of making this suggestion is fulfilled.
