Sanjiv Puri, chairman of cigarette-to-consumer-goods conglomerate ITC, also weighed in on the ongoing debate over the 90-hour work week. Puri said in a recent interview that rather than the number of hours, it is important that employees are aligned with the larger vision of the company.
His remarks come amid a heated debate over L&T Chairman SN Subrahmanyan’s remarks that employees should work 90-hour weeks.
“If you ask a mason what he does, he might say he lays a brick, another might say he builds a wall, but some might say he builds a castle. It is this vision that workers should have,” he said. PTI in an interview.
Asked if that meant he would prefer not to spend a certain number of hours on it, Puri said: “We wouldn’t do that.”
Additionally, Puri explained that it is important to empower employees with the company’s vision and goals.
“We use part of the vision and want to help make the vision a reality. And we enable vitality through our processes, through the resources we provide, through the freedom to act we provide, the empowerment we provide, which are very different, very clear goals that individuals need to achieve, and those are the main things that we look at.”
Worse still, Subrahmanyan said he regretted not being able to have his employees work on Sundays. An undated video in which the president can be heard making the remarks has gone viral on social media.
He also questions the need for employees to spend time at home. “What are you doing sitting at home? How long can you look at your wife and how long can the wife look at her husband.”
Commenting on the viral video, Puri said, “I know he (Subrahmanyan) has been the subject of a lot of debate, but let me tell you with what philosophy you look at him.”
