Rajiv Bajaj of Bajaj Auto weighed in on the ongoing 90-hour work week debate, and said India Inc needs to move away from measuring work hours, calling it an 'archaic and regressive' metric, adding that while putting in enough work matters, what is important is the quality of the hours.
In a conversation with CNBC-TV18 on Jaunaru 10, Rajiv Bajaj took a more empathetic view on the work culture and said employees are already working for half their day if one includes commute, which is a good enough number, and questioned if that was the single-biggest limiting factor for corporates.
"Stopping short of how many hours, the need is to focus on the qualitative aspects, and not on just the one dimension alone."
Rajiv Bajaj did not refer to the comment by L&T chairman SN Subrahmanyan, which now has gone viral and evoking strong reactions on social media. L&T even had to issue a statement further clarifying the context in which Subrahmanyan's comment needed to viewed, though it has not yet helped bridge the divided house on the issue over what should be the ideal hour in a work week.
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Adding that companies needed to get the necessary work done, Rajiv Bajaj maintained that work hours were not the most defining factor holding back businesses. "I doubt if that is limiting companies to do well, because, then, the bottleneck lies at the top of company," said Bajaj. The role of the senior leadership in any company involves being an enabler of enhanced productivity. "My job is to create the workplace that is conducive for others."
His went on to highlight that businesses today need to step away from keeping a track of the hours that an employee clocks. "I will say companies must move away from measuring hours," calling them "archaic and regressive". Instead, he said, the need is to move towards greater speed of getting things done.
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On the 90-hour debate, Bajaj said instead of resisting the sentiment, he would like to see people walk the talk. "Let it start from the top, and if find that it works as a Proof of Concept, then implement it further down."
Rajiv Bajaj backed his argument by recalling that he had started Work From Home back in July 2018, two years before Covid-19. He added that he did not not to come to work daily once there was a good team and strategy in place, and if one could work equally effective while being away. While the middle and junior management cannot do that at most places, especially in a manufacturing business, Rajiv Bajaj talked about an important metric of measuring the 'wholesomeness of life'. An employee who may work 70-90 hours a week is still a human being, and not a robot, he added.
Bajaj said the complexities of the issue lies in the fact that productivity talks happen at the top (leadership), but the implementation happens at the junior levels.
"What we need is a more kinder, gentler world, and companies, HR need to work towards that."
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