Pune Firm Asks Candidates To Work ‘72 Hours A Week Without Any Ifs And Buts'
Work-life balance and toxic work culture have become increasingly common topics of discussion, highlighting a growing awareness of their impact on employee well-being and overall organisational performance. While several Western countries are moving towards shorter working hours to enhance productivity and quality of life, India appears to be moving in the opposite direction.
Following Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy's advice for a 70-hour workweek, a firm based in Pune has asked its new applicants if they're comfortable working for '12 hours per day and 6 days per week- without any ifs and buts", which totals to a 72-hour workweek.
Taking to Reddit, a man shared a screenshot of a job hiring questionnaire he came across on LinkedIn, reigniting the 'poor work-life balance" discussion online.
The screengrab featured several questions to the new applicants, but the one that grabbed the viewer's attention was 'Would you be comfortable with (12 hours a day, 6 days a week) culture from the office without ifs and buts? It is similar to SF tech culture, work hard, and fast growth. 12 hours a day, 6 days a week is common."
'Found this gem of a job opening on LinkedIn," the post caption reads.
It further reads, 'While we fight for more work-life balance, companies like this are moving in the exact opposite direction. If this is the norm in SF, then please pay us also salaries equivalent to SF salaries and give us offices that justify us working 72 hours without ifs and buts. This one was truly hilarious. I don't even want to check their Glassdoor page."
How Did Social Media React?
In no time, the comment section was flooded with reactions from several users. A Reddit user commented, 'They are at least honest with their stupidity."
Another one wrote, 'I have been hired for one such organisation. They would say stuff like If the candidate is negotiating, then we don't want them to join us."
One of them shared, 'Post the job link, let me put in No as well."
A comment reads, 'Candidate: What do you want from me in exchange for Salary? Company: Your Soul." Another one wrote, 'They take Yes for desperate candidates; nobody in their right mind is going to say Yes." A person commented, 'I HATE these company that will term these atrocious expectations in a 'hustle culture work hard slay hard' SO MUCH."
India's Work Culture
The International Labour Organization (ILO) reports that the average Indian employee works 46.7 hours per week. This ranks India among the countries with the longest working hours. Specifically, 51 per cent of India's workforce works 49 hours or more every week.
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