Dear CEOs, here’s what we do when we are not at work — besides staring at our wives

To be sure, unlike Murthy, Subrahmanyan’s advice was not doled out on a social media platform for the general public. But thanks to a purportedly leaked video, we got a glimpse of what happens behind closed (glass) doors in many corporate houses.

One may blame the era Murthy and Subrahmanyan come from for the mentality but our younger corporate dude-bros are no different. Not long ago, Bombay Shaving Company’s CEO Shantanu Deshpande was panned for advising 22-year-olds to “put in the 18-hour days for at least 4-5 years”. More recently, an old video of Ola’s Bhavish Aggarwal went viral in which he could be seen terming work-life balance a “Western construct”.

One thread that binds these young and old CEOs is the assertion that “I work on Sundays, too”.

But Subrahmanyan and those of his ilk conveniently seem to be skipping one point of note: They are the CEOs, raking in millions in salary, apart from other bonuses, perks, ESOPs and what have you. The employee that they are expecting to selectively emulate them, on the other hand, is mostly an average paid worker arriving at the office on a bike taxi after finishing off all the household chores because she can’t afford a battery of domestic workers that makes ignoring the home a little bit easier.

The advice given by Subrahmanyam to his employees is untenable under any circumstances but is particularly jarring since it comes close on the heels of news of a few young CEOs succumbing to cardiac arrest and other stress-induced diseases in the recent past. Amid this, asking employees to come even on sick days is likely to trigger a wave of backlash.

To press his point, Subrahmanyan goes on to share an anecdote about a Chinese person he met who asserted that China could surpass the United States “any day” since Chinese workers put in 90 hours a week, whereas Americans only work 50.

But here is the thing: There is little evidence of China surpassing the US as of now. There is something for which there is solid evidence, however — the four-day work-week.

In pilot programmes run by the non-profit 4 Day Week Global in 2022, almost half (49 per cent) of the participating UK organisations said that a shorter work-week led to improved productivity. A survey by Gartner Inc found a shorter week to be a favoured recruitment and retention strategy.

More recently, Tokyo set a new precedent in workplace reform by introducing a four-day work-week for government employees in a move to support working mothers with the governor emphasising that they would ensure “no one has to give up their career due to life events such as childbirth or childcare.”

Subrahmanyan’s insensitive remarks on personal relationships undermine the importance of family time; they trivialise familial bonds. They are particularly uncharitable towards women who continue to shoulder a majority of household responsibilities, not to mention the emotional burden.

Here is a small list of things that people do when they are not in the office, or not staring at their wife/husband: Spend time with their children and parents, nurture a hobby, meet friends, attend events around town, cook, clean, work out, rest, unwind. All these activities help increase their happiness quotient, which ultimately leads to honest and fruitful work in the office.

So, instead of pressing them to work 90 hours a week, the question Subrahmanyan needs to ask his employees is: “Why do you need 90 hours to finish your task? Please take a break. Relax and unwind. And instead of staring at your wife, why not help her around the house?”

As the aphorism goes, work smarter, not harder.