Helios Capital founder Samir Arora joins 90-hour work week debate: ‘Have to work harder in the beginning, but…’
Larsen & Toubro Chairman S N Subrahmanyan sparked an online debate this week after advocating a 90-hour work week and suggesting that employees should even give up Sundays.
Helios Capital founder Samir Arora waded into the ‘90-hour work week’ debate on Friday amid growing growing outrage on social media platforms. Controversy erupted earlier this week after a video showed Larsen & Toubro Chairman SN Subrahmanyan calling for extended hours and suggesting that employees should give up their weekend.
"Yes. In the beginning one has to work harder than others to learn, get noticed and get ahead. In my first job after IIM, I worked in Delhi where my hours were routinely from 9 AM to around 10 PM and about an hour each way for travel. I enjoyed it a lot but still sought a job with more sane hours," Arora recalled.
The IIM graduate said that he had eventually transitioned to a new job where people worked from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm and often “started thinking about leaving” an hour early.
“It was so boring that I went back to my earlier firm once again,” he added.
Arora also noted that he truly enjoyed working with Alliance and Helios in more recent years — so much so that he did not “count it as work 95% of the time”.
“Bottom line : It is not right to say that the CEO/promoter is working 70 hrs because he is the owner and gets paid much more etc. You have to ask, why that person was able to become CEO or First gen promoter or whatever in the first place. Your choice,” he added.
A video of Subrahmanyan calling for staffers to work 90 hours a week if they have “to be on top of the world” has sparked heated debate on social media platforms. The clip also re-ignited the work-life balance debate that had enveloped Narayan Murthy's calls for a 70 hour work week last year.
“What do you do sitting at home? How long can you stare at your wife, and how long can the wife stare at the husband? If I can make you work on Sundays, I will be more happy, because I work on Sundays,” he can be heard saying in the now viral clip.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Business NewsCompaniesNewsHelios Capital founder Samir Arora joins 90-hour work week debate: ‘Have to work harder in the beginning, but…’
First Published:10 Jan 2025, 05:14 PM IST
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