Extract of Mr. Narayana Murthy's Speech during Mentor Session:

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 do 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 behaviour 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 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, 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.