LOVE YOUR JOB, BUT NEVER FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR COMPANY BCOZ U NEVER KNOW WHEN COMPANY STOPS LOVING YOU -
Narayana Murthy
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 for 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 eldest 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. Hence.
"LOVE YOUR JOB BUT NEVER FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR COMPANY" .- Narayana Murthy
Narayana Murthy
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 for 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 eldest 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. Hence.
"LOVE YOUR JOB BUT NEVER FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR COMPANY" .- Narayana Murthy
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