Wednesday, 30 October 2024
Wednesday, 30 October 2024
SquareSpace CMO Kinjli Mathur recounted in a recent interview with Fortune magazine how at the start of her career, she was "willing to work for free, I was willing to work any hours they needed—even on evenings and weekends," and that she was prepared "to do whatever it takes” to get her first internship. She told Fortune: “You really have to just be willing to do anything, any hours, any pay, any type of job—just really remain open.”
With that, she became the newest entrant to the business leaders’ club under fire for promoting what some deem as unsustainable and unethical work practices. “Late slave capitalism,” as one user quipped on the social medium X (formerly Twitter).
Here is a quick recap of controversial ideas about work culture promoted by business honchos that have sparked controversy.
Narayana Murthy: 70-hour work week
N.R. Narayana Murthy, co-founder of Infosys, sparked controversy by endorsing a 70-hour work week to boost India's economic progress. In a 2023 interview, he stated, "India's work productivity is one of the lowest in the world. Unless we improve our work culture, there is no hope for our country." Murthy argued that working longer hours was essential for India's development. Critics highlighted the potential for employee burnout and questioned the feasibility of such demands in balancing work and personal life.
Elon Musk: Nobody ever changed the world on 40 hours a week
Elon Musk, the controversial CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has been outspoken about his belief in extreme work hours. In a November 2018 post on Twitter, Musk wrote: "There are way easier places to work, but nobody ever changed the world on 40 hours a week." Musk's extreme work ethic is well-documented, often tweeting about his long hours and sleeping at the Tesla factory during critical production periods. "Work like hell. I mean, you just have to put in 80 to 100-hour weeks every week. This improves the odds of success,” he tweeted in 2018.
Jeff Bezos: No work life balance
Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, has emphasized the challenges of achieving work-life balance, instead preferring the term “work-life harmony”. In a 2018 interview, Bezos stated: “Work-life harmony is what I try to teach young employees and actually senior executives at Amazon as well. But I do think for certain roles, certain senior roles, there is not really that option for work-life balance.” Bezos argues that instead of seeking balance, employees should find a harmonious integration of work and personal life where each aspect complements and energises the other. Okay then.
Peter Thiel: Abandon higher education
Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal along with Musk, has argued against the traditional college experience stating that it often stifles creativity and imposes unnecessary financial burdens on students. In his 2014 book, Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future, Thiel stated, "For the privilege of being turned into conformists, students (or their families) pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in skyrocketing tuition that continues to outpace inflation. Why are we doing this to ourselves?" To challenge this system, Thiel established the Thiel Fellowship, which grants $100,000 to young people to drop out of college and pursue entrepreneurial projects. At least he put his money where his mouth is.
Ola CEO: Weekends have no value
In an interview with YourStory in 2023, Bhavish Aggarwal, the CEO of ride-sharing app Ola, dismissed the concept of taking Saturdays and Sundays off from work, stating that the idea has been borrowed from the western culture. “In the modern age, Saturdays and Sundays hold no value for me," he said. "If I look a few decades ahead, I don't think work is about 5 days of work and 2 days off. But it is hard to put a system around that, and OLA doesn't have a solution." He has also supported Narayana Murthy’s endorsal of a 70-hour work week. Sure.
Jack Ma: 996 work culture
Jack Ma, co-founder of Alibaba, has sparked significant controversy with his endorsement of the "996" work culture, which stands for working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week. Ma has described this demanding schedule as a "huge blessing" for employees. In a 2019 blog post, he stated, "If you find a job you like, the 996 problem does not exist; if you're not passionate about it, every minute of going to work is a torment." In a later post on his Weibo account, Ma has, however, described enforced long hours as "inhumane" and "unsustainable," emphasizing that companies forcing staff to work overtime for profit are "foolish" and doomed to fail. Sigh.
