Productivity of the Labour Market
Context:
- Narayan Murthy urged the younger generation to put in 70 hours a week of labour in order to boost India’s labour market’s productivity. This has sparked a discussion over longer workdays in the private sector in India.
Why Narayan Murthy’s evaluation is incorrect:
- Firstly, it is inappropriate to continue to worship the idol of economic prosperity and productivity without considering what is actually important for the development of a rational and equal society: distributive justice, or the egalitarian ethos of sharing and non-possessiveness.
- The majority of Indian workers, including housewives, autorickshaw drivers, and casual employees, put in more than 70 hours per week at their jobs. But they’re not wealthy.
- Their poverty is a result of structural deficiencies in India’s inequitable society rather than a choice. There is a significant disparity between the pay scales of some of India’s top corporate entities. (A study claims that Infosys is paying young freshers only Rs. 3.72 lakh per year even in 2023, yet the CEO’s salary is reportedly about 2,200 times that of a fresher.)
- Secondly, it is imperative to consider the broad definition of “alienation” in the context of the workplace. Karl Marx, when he was younger, wrote a great deal on “alienation” or “estrangement”; this is the kind of writing that is very different from creative play and leads to a feeling of exhaustion and meaninglessness.
- A creative artist, for instance, could work on their field of interest for fifteen hours a day and derive mental satisfaction from it. Even with a generous package, a computer engineer who puts in 70 hours a week will not get any mental fulfilment from their profession.
- It is important to be mindful of the existential suffering and other physical problems associated with what many would refer to as the “burnout” effect.
- Lastly, we must free the force of our creativity or yearning for a decent and meaningful existence from what it appears Murthy is urging us to do: work, work, and work for the exclusive purpose of “economic prosperity.”
- There is more to life than locking yourself into a cubicle in an opulent corporate residence, working nonstop, and then spending your weekends idly shopping at a supercenter.
- Perhaps they are expressing the amazing beauty of “idleness”—that is, the ability to know oneself and the “surplus” time to contemplate the interaction between a tiny yellow blossom and a butterfly or to stare at the sunset and think of Vincent van Gogh.
- In conclusion, one’s position on the debate determines whether or not Narayan Murthy’s counsel was wise. The world has learned from the recent “resignation tsunami” that it would not be a good idea to anticipate extra labour from already worn-out employees. In this case, maybe it would be wiser to take the middle route.
