IN PRAISE OF WORK
How many hours a day, should anyone work? asks RAJENDRA ANEJA
The illustrious British philosopher Bertrand Russell authored an erudite essay, “In Praise of Idleness” in 1932. Now, Indians are debating whether they should work 70 hours or 90 hours per week. Mr. Narayan Murthy, Chairman of Infosys, a leading Information-Technology company, opined that citizens should work 70 hours per week, for India to realise its developmental goals. Then Mr. S.N. Subrahmanyan, Chairman of the foremost construction business Larsen and Toubro, opined that Indians should work for 90 hours per week. The social media went into a ballistic epilepsy against their views.
In a corporate career of over 50 years, I have yet to meet a person who attained success, without working 10 to 12 hours per day. The people who achieved remarkable success, always slog even more 12 hours per day, six to seven days a week. Successful people, whether artists, managers or businesspeople, work throughout the day and even the night. They do not know respite. Even when they sleep, they subconsciously think about their work.
Success is a highly elusive mistress. It demands absolute commitment and dedication. Business leaders, writers, prime ministers do not work 9 am to 6 pm. Their minds work, literally for 24 hours on their missions. Their minds are boiling cauldrons of ideas and thoughts. A brain is not an electric switch, which can be switched on or off. It works ceaselessly at the conscious and sub-conscious level.
Many people talk about a work-life balance, these days. Sure, you may play some tennis or golf every week, to keep fit. However, when people enjoy and love their work, it becomes a passion. It does not remain work anymore. It is bliss to work on something meaningful. For instance, a person may be constructing a new factory, which will create jobs and skills. Then, this mission can inspire additional endeavours. You are benefiting the country, even if it is in a small way. Clock watchers can never succeed. Professionals on the fast-track, work with their minds, but also with their hearts.
Some decades ago, I worked in a department in a company, where everybody worked about 11 to 12 hours per day. We also worked on Saturdays, which was an official holiday, from 9 am to 3 pm or so. Then my boss told me to work on Sundays also, from 10 am to 4 pm. This would mean about 70 to 80 hours of work per week. I was living alone. I told my boss that I needed the Sunday, to get organised for the following week. However, he refused. He said he would issue written instructions to me to work every Sunday. I did it. I was young. I was learning. Despite the hardship, I followed his instructions. Now years later, I yet treasure the lessons of those tough days.
The attitude towards work is also determined by the era and circumstances in which the young are born and brought up. During the era of 1950s to 1970s, people had to slog to provide for the basics in their families. Buying a refrigerator or a car, were celebrated events. However, the generations born in the 1980s onwards, begin life with an advantage. Their parents have provided for the essentials in their lives. They begin their careers with an infrastructure of homes and cars. Some of the parents, particularly who are in business, provide for their children with life-long savings. However, the best gift a parent can give to his children is to teach them to dream big and strive continuously. The younger generations, who inherit wealth, should never take their station for granted. Success must be nurtured daily.
Work brings money. Sustained work can bring more money. Then a person can provide a more comfortable life to his family. Moreover, many people cannot work after the age of 70 to 75. Most countries do not provide age-old insurance or pensions to senior citizens. They fend for themselves. So, if a person has worked hard and saved some moneys, his old age can be manageable.
In many Western countries, social benefits and pensions are attractive. Then, local people do not want to undertake physical tasks like cleaning, gardening, waitressing, etc. So, these countries bring expatriates to do these jobs. Gradually, these expatriates want the local social benefits and citizenships. Then, the balance of power starts changing, resulting in social tensions. Now, if people in these countries valued the dignity of labour, there would be no need to import labour. There is no embarrassment, in working with one’s hands. It makes you, a person of all seasons.
Only the rich of the world, who are born wealthy or marry riches, can follow Bertrand Russell’s advice and remain idle. They are born with mansions; they inherit affluence from previous generations. They saunter through life. They do not have to worry about bills. I would have loved to have been born rich. It would have been gorgeous to live in the mountains, with beautiful flowers, birds and books as friends. I would focus on my hobbies like writing or acting, even if they brought me no money. Alas, most of us, must work for a living. We must pay grocery, electricity and telephone bills every month.
Work keeps a person busy. As our ancestors warned, an idle mind is the devil’s workshop. People who work relentlessly, eventually succeed. The person who rolls up his sleeves and gets the job done, is the winner.
William Davies, in his poem, “Leisure” had proclaimed, “A poor life this if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare.” Perhaps. However, for most of us, the advice of Mahatma Gandhi is most appropriate, “Work is worship.”
As the poet Robert Frost wrote, “The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.”
Aneja was the Managing Director of Unilever Tanzania. He is an alumnus of Harvard Business School and the author of “Rural Marketing Across Countries.” He writes from Mumbai, India
