L&T boss’ 90-hr workweek remark: ‘We wouldn’t do that’, says ITC chief
ITC chairman Sanjiv Puri says empowering employees to realise their potential and accomplish their jobs well were more important than the number of hours put in;
The chief of the cigarettes-to-consumer goods conglomerate ITC Ltd doesn’t agree with the suggestion that employees should work 90 hours a week and that empowering the work force was more important.
Chairman Sanjiv Puri said empowering employees to realise their potential and accomplish their jobs well was more important than the number of hours one puts in.
ITC on employees
"We would not do that," he told PTI on not asking employees to put in a particular number of hours at work.
“We would rather like people to be part of the journey (of the company) and feel passionately involved and kind of feel the urge amongst themselves to make a difference to the enterprise. That's how we look at it.”
Also read: ‘How long can you stare at your wife?’: L&T chief calls for 90-hour work week
In ITC, he said, employees can also work from home two days a week.
What L&T chief said?
"So, it's not so much about monitoring each individual's number of hours. It's more about enabling individuals, helping them to actualise their potential, and reviewing what goals people have achieved.”
SN Subrahmanyan, chairman of India's largest engineering and construction company L&T, sparked outrage after saying that employees should work 90 hours a week including on Sundays.
ITC’s work philosophy
"Let me tell you the philosophy with which you look at it," Puri said.
Also read: 'Shocking': Deepika on L&T head suggesting 90-hour work week for staff
"We put a lot of effort in making sure that everybody understands the vision of the enterprise. We use a part of the vision and want to contribute to making the vision a reality,” he said.
“And we enable vitality by our processes, by the resources we provide, by the freedom to act, that we provide, the empowerment that we provide, which are very different and very clear goals for individuals to achieve, and these are the primary things that we look at," he said.
Also read: 'Stare at wife' jab | Corporate titans clash over work-life balance
Goenka on working hours
L&T head's views drew criticism from some peers in the business community. RPG Group chairman Harsh Goenka said longer working hours was a recipe for burnout and not success.