It is frightening that we are maybe in extremely crazy times. The short memory of unnatural death incidents doesn’t distress people any longer. We easily scroll away alarming content on our social media pages. Thereby numbing our minds to feel anything for others. One shudder to remember the disturbing death of an overworked 26-year-old employee on her office desk in Pune last year.
This dehumanising behaviour of dismissing one bad incident from the other, maybe is the new reality?
In offices, senior management doesn’t take into account how younger staff are coerced into working late during weekdays and also into weekends with no time to unwind or relax with family or friends.
The death of the Pune girl definitely wasn’t a wake up call or hasn’t pricked the consciousness of our country’s thought leaders. That’s why the recent unthinking comment from corporate professional SN Subramanyam, to his employees, to consider working every Sunday, is a reminder that the alarming trend in cases related to stress, anxiety or even death, is just another statistic in corporate culture. Obviously his comment hasn’t gone down well with netizens.
According to a recent labour data, for an average Indian, the working week is now almost 47 hours. India has one of the most overworked labour forces in the world, more longer hours than China, Singapore and even Japan. These countries have a reputation for their brutal work culture.
One must not ignore the fact that we cannot compare the salaries of top management to those of average lower staff. Lower-ranking staff do not have perks. Therefore for them to navigate their lives, with less money and to perform the ordinary duties, breaks down their support system at home and also their health.
If one is to argue that countries that work hard and play soft are becoming the next superpowers. But the example in case is UAE. They have shifted from a five-day to a four-and-a-half-day workweek, which was effective January 1, 2022. This shift was with the aim to enhance work life balance and boost productivity.
According to the global mental health report: India is at 61st number. This number is only steadily growing.
If one speaks to irate office employees, they report that it’s a chain reaction of the pressure they are put under by their managers, who themselves are also required to clock in the excessive hours.
“Let them eat cake” is the most famous quote attributed to Marie-Antoinette, the queen of France during the French Revolution. It reflects the princess's frivolous disregard for the starving peasants or her poor understanding of their plight.
Maybe managers who are in charge, are blindsided and suffer a sense of entitlement, where they forget that their lower staff may not have the income to hire a nanny, a cook and a driver.
Mohua Chinappa is an author, poet and runs two podcasts, The Mohua Show and The Literature Lounge. She is also a member of a London-based award-winning non-profit think tank called Bridge India.
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Stressed Sundays Is Most Undesirable
Many top-ranking managers are blindsided and often suffer a sense of entitlement, where they forget that their lower staff may not have the income to hire a nanny, a cook and a driver
It is frightening that we are maybe in extremely crazy times. The short memory of unnatural death incidents doesn’t distress people any longer. We easily scroll away alarming content on our social media pages. Thereby numbing our minds to feel anything for others. One shudder to remember the disturbing death of an overworked 26-year-old employee on her office desk in Pune last year.
This dehumanising behaviour of dismissing one bad incident from the other, maybe is the new reality?
In offices, senior management doesn’t take into account how younger staff are coerced into working late during weekdays and also into weekends with no time to unwind or relax with family or friends.
The death of the Pune girl definitely wasn’t a wake up call or hasn’t pricked the consciousness of our country’s thought leaders. That’s why the recent unthinking comment from corporate professional SN Subramanyam, to his employees, to consider working every Sunday, is a reminder that the alarming trend in cases related to stress, anxiety or even death, is just another statistic in corporate culture. Obviously his comment hasn’t gone down well with netizens.
According to a recent labour data, for an average Indian, the working week is now almost 47 hours. India has one of the most overworked labour forces in the world, more longer hours than China, Singapore and even Japan. These countries have a reputation for their brutal work culture.
One must not ignore the fact that we cannot compare the salaries of top management to those of average lower staff. Lower-ranking staff do not have perks. Therefore for them to navigate their lives, with less money and to perform the ordinary duties, breaks down their support system at home and also their health.
If one is to argue that countries that work hard and play soft are becoming the next superpowers. But the example in case is UAE. They have shifted from a five-day to a four-and-a-half-day workweek, which was effective January 1, 2022. This shift was with the aim to enhance work life balance and boost productivity.
According to the global mental health report: India is at 61st number. This number is only steadily growing.
If one speaks to irate office employees, they report that it’s a chain reaction of the pressure they are put under by their managers, who themselves are also required to clock in the excessive hours.
“Let them eat cake” is the most famous quote attributed to Marie-Antoinette, the queen of France during the French Revolution. It reflects the princess's frivolous disregard for the starving peasants or her poor understanding of their plight.
Maybe managers who are in charge, are blindsided and suffer a sense of entitlement, where they forget that their lower staff may not have the income to hire a nanny, a cook and a driver.
Mohua Chinappa is an author, poet and runs two podcasts, The Mohua Show and The Literature Lounge. She is also a member of a London-based award-winning non-profit think tank called Bridge India.