Mr. Narayana Murthy is undoubtedly one of the most
famous persons from Karnataka. He is known not just for building the
biggest IT empire in India but also for his simplicity. Almost every
important dignitary visits Infosys campus. He delivered an interesting
speech during an employee session with another IT company in India.
He is incidentally, one of the top 50 Influential people of Asia
according to an Asiaweek publication and also the new IT Advisor to the
Thailand Prime Minister.
Extract of Mr. Narayana Murthy's Speech during
Mentor Session:
I know people who work 12 hours a day, six 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 don't 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 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 aren't
working as hard); they are irritable, or cranky, or even angry. Other
people
avoid them. Such behavior 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 2 AM, 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
something. 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 don't 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're 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
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