‘Would rather like people to be…’: ITC chairman Sanjiv Puri on 90-hour work week debate

Sharing his views on the “90-hour work week” statement by Larsen & Tourbo chairman SN Subrahmanyan, ITC Limited boss Sanjiv Puri on Tuesday said ITC would want employees to be a part of the company’s journey, rather than calculating the “number of hours put in by them.”

“We would rather like people to be part of the company’s journey and feel passionately involved and kind of feel the urge amongst themselves to make a difference to the enterprise. That’s how we look at it”, Sanjiv Puri, chairman and MD of ITC Limited, said at an event in Delhi, according to news agency PTI.

Also Read: Ex L&T employee supports chairman’s call for 90-hour week

Puri, when asked if he would rather not put a number to the work hours at ITC, replied, “We would not do that.”

Further, he stated that ITC, a cigarettes-to-consumer goods conglomerate from Kolkata, has a a flexible work environment, including work from home twice a week.

“So it’s not so much about, you know, really monitoring each individual’s number of hours. It’s more about enabling individuals, helping them to actualise their potential, and then reviewing what goals people have achieved,” Sanjiv Puri added.

What is the controversy?

In a remark which has drawn reactions from the likes of Anand Mahindra, Harsh Goenka, Adar Poonawalla, and Deepika Padukone, among others, L&T chairman SN Subrahmanyan recently stated he “regrets” he can’t make employees work on Sundays.

“What do you do sitting at home? How long can you stare at your wife?” he asked.

“If you have got to be on top of the world.. You have to work 90 hours a week. Get going, guys,” Subrahmanyan noted.

Also Read | L&T chairman’s 90-hour work week remark ‘reflects larger ambition’, says company

Employees of L&T, a multi-billion dollar conglomerate, work on Saturdays.