Work-life balance? What’s that? At one level it seems almost absurd to pose the question when work is so hard to come by. Whatever the government
may say about green shoots of recovery, the reality is jobs are scarce. You know that for sure when you’re told the biggest recruiters at IIT Delhi this year were Jalandhar’s Lovely Professional University, started by a mithai-magnate (it picked up 21 graduates) and ICFAI Institute of Science and Technology, (which recruited 17), not fancy names like Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse.
If things are so bad for kids who’ve been through one of the toughest selection processes in the country and who, till yesterday, were spoilt for choice, imagine how much worse it must be for others hoping to start their careers. And for many already in the workforce who are desperately hanging on to their jobs for want of alternatives. In such a scenario, where not only are jobs scarce, but unlike in the US, there is no safety net whatsoever, work ought to be prized above all else.
So is it strange, even plain stupid, to write a Sunday column on work-life balance? What’s that, many of today’s youngsters with 24 by 7 jobs might ask. Some quaint idea? What’s life if you don’t have work? The counter, what’s work if you don’t have a life somehow never seems to get posed at all.
And so for the generation that’s just started work in the midst of what is arguably the severest downturn the world has witnessed since the Great Depression and for those in sectors hard hit by the slowdown, life is only work, work, and more work. If you’re lucky enough to have a job, you’d better put your nose to the grindstone and slog; from dawn to dusk and possibly till later too. Remember Andy Grove’s, ‘Only the paranoid survive’? Well, barring the public sector, that seems to be the motto in the private sector the world over.
Let me qualify that. The country’s second largest private sector bank, HDFC Bank, has once again shown it is different. The bank has reportedly told its employees it doesn’t want them to spend too much time in office. All employees have been told to shut down their computers two hours after the close of banking and not work much beyond ‘normal’ (10am – 4pm) working hours.
It’s asked them to ‘Go get a life’, says a report in The Financial Chronicle. And suiting action to words, the bank’s managing director, Aditya Puri, sets an example by leaving office at 5.30 pm sharp. Sadly, organisations like HDFC Bank are rare. In most organisations, performance is measured, not by the quantum and quality of output, but by the number of hours spent in office. Never mind whether it is spent productively or not (usually the latter)! Barring the odd day, there is usually no reason why a normal work load cannot be completed in a 8-10 hour working day, yet for most the workday stretches interminably.
Even more unfortunate is the practice (actively encouraged by bosses) of hanging around in office till the boss leaves. This is what makes HDFC Bank a trendsetter of sorts. Not only does it tell its employees to vamoose once their work is done but their boss does likewise. Delhi Metro legendary chief E Sreedharan is another boss who doesn’t believe in his staff ‘hanging’ around. He seldom stays late in office and does not encourage his staff to do so either. Yet Delhi Metro has, time and again, beaten the deadline.
To be sure Delhi Metro is a public sector undertaking (with a private sector work ethos!) But make no mistake! HDFC Bank is not setting it-self up as a sucker when it tells its employees to go home, spend time with family and friends, have a blast, whatever, even as employees at competitor banks ‘work’ their fingers to their bone. It knows all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Employees cannot be productive if they are cooped up in office all day.
‘Eureka’ moments seldom come while sitting at a desk. In creative jobs, in particular, and these days almost all work is creative, it is important to re-charge your batteries and that cannot happen in the confines of an office. Companies and managements that recognise that more (hours in office) means less quality output and strive to ensure their employees have a work-life balance are the winners.
(Source: Economic Times)
