CEO of this company warned – Companies which put ‘too much’ pressure on employees will be out of the market.
Amid the ongoing discussion in the industry about stress in the workplace, Sridhar Vembu, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and co-founder of technology company Zoho, has warned that companies that put ‘too much’ pressure on employees will not be able to keep vaccines in the market. He said that building a long-term and good company requires a ‘different’ mindset. Vembu said that after migrating to big cities, fatigue, loneliness, long commutes and stressful work conditions are putting people in a very stressful situation. He also said that big technology companies need to be regulated. He stressed the importance of ‘standards’ to prevent and curb the creation of digital monopoly.
Excessive stress and fatigue are not good
On the issue of workplace stress, Vembu said that although he has worked for 27-28 years, he is willing to work for 28 more years if possible. But he is definitely not in favor of working indiscriminately, due to which he or his employees feel excessive pressure and fatigue. His statement assumes significance in the context of the tragic death of a young employee in a leading consulting company. After this incident, the issue of stress at workplaces is being discussed widely. Vembu said depression and working indiscriminately are real issues. The way to deal with this is to create ‘balance’. Any company that puts too much pressure on its employees cannot sustain its momentum in the market in the long run, he said.
Pressure is building like a big ‘pressure cooker’
And then there’s another factor, Vembu said. We are bringing youth from different places, small towns, to big cities. And the first problem, of course, is loneliness. They enter the workforce alone. And we see this problem in ourselves. We have faced it. Secondly, a journey of one-two hours to reach work place and from work place to home is common in our cities. Bengaluru is a good example of this. He said loneliness, long commutes, stressful working conditions along with excessive workload make matters worse. Vembu said, with all these things you are putting people in a pressurized situation like a huge ‘pressure cooker’. And it’s very sad that some people break up. The solution is for companies to diversify. They need to create a presence in smaller towns and cities.
Companies will have to work on many fronts
“I believe we have to diversify geographically,” he said. Not every activity should be in the same place and we have to think differently about how we build long-term companies. Vembu’s company Zoho works on the philosophy that world-class products can be made anywhere. He described India’s digital public infrastructure (DPI) as a ‘shining success story’. Vembu said, India has emerged as a very strong country in the region. In fact, we are a global leader in this. I don’t think any other country is investing so much in digital infrastructure and so many standards are coming out.
