Extract of Mr. Narayana Murthy's Speech during Mentor Session: I know people who work 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, or more. Some people do so because of a work emergency where the long hours are only temporary. Other people I know have put in these hours for years. I do not know if they are working all these hours, but I do know they are in the office this long. Others put in long office hours because they are addicted to the workplace.
Whatever the reason for putting in overtime, working long hours over the long term is harmful to the person and to the organization.There are things managers can do to change this for everyone's benefit. Being in the office long hours, over long periods of time, makes way for potential errors.
My colleagues who are in the office long hours frequently make mistakes caused by fatigue. Correcting these mistakes requires their time as well as the time and energy of others. I have seen people work Tuesday through Friday to correct mistakes made after 5 PM on Monday.
Another problem is that people who are in the office long hours are not pleasant company.They often complain about other people (who are not working as hard); they are irritable, or cranky, or even angry. Other people avoid them. Such behaviour poses problems, where work goes much better when people work together instead of avoiding one another.
As Managers, there are things we can do to help people leave the office. First and foremost is to set the example and go home ourselves. I work with a manager who chides people for working long hours. His words quickly lose their meaning when he sends these chiding group e-mails with a time-stamp of 2am, Sunday.
Second is to encourage people to put some balance in their lives. For instance, here is a guideline I find helpful:
1) Wake up, eat a good breakfast, and go to work.
2) Work hard and smart for eight or nine hours.
3) Go home.
4) Read the books/comics, watch a funny movie, dig in the dirt, play with your kids, etc.
5) Eat well and sleep well.
This is called recreating.
Doing steps 1, 3, 4, and 5 enable step 2.
Working regular hours and recreating daily are simple concepts.
They are hard for some of us because that requires ‘personal change’.
They are possible since we all have the power to choose to do them.
In considering the issue of overtime, I am reminded of my oldest son. When he was a toddler, if people were visiting the apartment, he would not fall asleep no matter how long the visit was, and no matter what time of day it was. He would fight off sleep until the visitors left. It was as if he was afraid that he would miss some thing. Once our visitors' left, he would go to sleep. By this time, however, he was over tired and would scream through half the night with nightmares. He, my wife, and I, all paid the price for his fear of missing out.
Perhaps some people put in such long hours because they do not want to miss anything when they leave the office. The trouble with this is that events will never stop happening. That is life! Things happen 24 hours a day. Allowing for little rest is not ultimately practical. So, take a nap. Things will happen while you are asleep, but you will have the energy to catch up when you wake.
Hence,
"LOVE YOUR JOB, BUT NEVER FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR COMPANY BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN THE COMPANY STOPS LOVING YOU" - Narayana Murthy
Something to share….
As employees, I am sure we all love our jobs. Question is should we work like a workaholic and expecting our subordinates and staff to be the same?
There is a time to work. There is also time for proper rest and relax to release stress; to play and do regular exercise after work so as to stay healthy.
Working hard is different from working long hours as if can’t stop working. The principle of success is “work hard and work smart”. It is not how much a person works, but it is how he or she works that makes the difference.
Well, we are always reminded of “sense of belonging” when working for any company. Irrespective of our title and position, obviously being employees to any company we are accountable and responsible to our jobs. We have to give in our best efforts to work skillfully, enthusiastically and efficiently to achieve company’s goals and objectives. All in all, we want to contribute and be valued as assets to our companies. We do not wish to become liabilities to our companies!
To me, it’s not a question of falling in love with the company, but rather any employee will feel much secure if being recognized as a team player in the organization. Surely an employee wants to be appreciated, honored and respected by his or her employer and enjoys the rewards in term of salary increment and annual bonus. When there is such a strong bond between employer-employees relationships, then the employees have something to look forward and happy to stay on.
When things turn out otherwise, may be Mr. N Murthy is absolutely right; the company has stopped loving you. You are no more treated as a member of the family, so to speak. That’s the time you better decide to leave the company and call it a day. Go and find another company where you can work and find happiness in your job.
In Colossians 3:23-24, we are taught that we should do our job with all our heart, meaning love our job, as if we are serving our Lord, Jesus Christ.
“Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.”
