Wayfair CEO Niraj Shah, an Indian American entrepreneur, has advocated for extended work hours and emphasized the integration of work and personal life for employees.
In a recent communication to Wayfair staff, Shah underscored the importance of hard work for achieving success, stating, “Winning requires hard work,” as reported by CNN. He encouraged a work culture that embraces long hours, responsiveness, and a harmonious blending of work and life, highlighting the historical lack of success for those who shy away from diligence.
Shah conveyed his perspectives to Wayfair employees, celebrating the company’s recent successes. He also provided guidance on financial decision-making, urging employees to assess spending and engage in negotiations. Inquiring about the reasonableness of expenditures and encouraging price negotiation were key points in his message, according to the report.
“Working long hours, being responsive, blending work and life, is not anything to shy away from. There is not a lot of history of laziness being rewarded with success,” the message further read, as mentioned in the CNN report.
Wayfair Inc in January this year declare the layoff of 1,750 employees, around 10 per cent of its workforce, in a cost-saving drive at a time when persistently high inflation has pressured consumer spending, according to a report by Reuters.
Other Business Tycoons that have advocated long working hours
In 2019, Jack Ma, the founder and billionaire behind Alibaba, stirred up a controversy with his statement suggesting that young individuals should view the overtime work cultures of major tech companies as a “significant blessing,” according to various media reports.
In a recent message to employees, Ma expressed the opinion that many workers lack the opportunity to work additional hours, and those who have the option should fully embrace it, the reports added.
Ma remarked, that he thinks the ability to work 996 is a huge blessing, in statements posted on Alibaba’s WeChat account in 2019. The term “996” denotes working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week.
In another development, Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy raised his expectations from India’s youngsters in terms of productivity, saying that young Indians should work for a minimum of 70 hours per week if the country wants to compete with emerging economies, as reported by Mint earlier.
The billionaire tech founder made similar comments in an interview with a news channel three years ago, when he suggested that youngsters should put in 60 hours per week for the next two to three years in order to revive the Indian economy.
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Published: 23 Dec 2023, 11:58 AM IST