When my generation started working, 9-9 was a done thing. Everyone worked that long. It was the norm. That was the bare minimum that was expected. Some of my friends in advertising worked harder and longer.
It won’t be too far fetched to say India’s IT boom was based on dollar exchange rate, cheap labour, zero respect for labour laws and a massive massive labour pool. That is changing. Global IT demand has been shrinking last few quarters. India now competes with smaller countries with cheaper labour. Only thing that has not changed is entry label salaries at the big IT companies.
However, what is changing most rapidly is the youth’s attitude towards work and life. My generation saw crores of young ones who came smaller towns to big cities with nothing but hunger and zero option of going back. We fought with each other for the same jobs and outworked our entire class. That is changing. The young ones today know about work from home, know about alternative careers that pay more, and are generally less compromising when it comes to workplace torture.
Precisely why, we have the biggies coming out every other day and saying the young ones are lazy. I don’t think they are. They are less desperate. They are more aware of their rights and what they want in life.
I am not young but I have refused to take another full time job. I know there is a price to pay. I know my projects demand more than 10 hours a day. But what I am willing to do as an entrepreneur is what I will refuse to do as an employee. And, ESOPs are not a bargaining chip. I have them from two companies and and they hold as much value as one rupee coins.
The world needs to slow down. The most advanced European countries are. Even calling on a Sunday is illegal in France. Compare that to India. Without slowing down, all the talk about sustainability is an eyewash. We learnt nothing from covid years. Real estate price have risen, roads are choked but compulsory in office attendance is demanded by every single IT company.
It is 2023. And, you have to ask yourself what are you doing to attract the best talent? ”Where will they go?” was a favorite taunt of one of my bosses. I am glad the youth is finding places to go to.
The youth must resist 70 hour work week as strongly as billionnaires resist Wealth tax.
