Stop Treating Us Like Machines: A Letter from a Middle-Class Employee

To,

Mr. Narayana Murthy, Founder, Infosys Limited,

To,

Mr. S N Subrahmanyan, Chairman, L&T Limited.

Dear Sirs,

Namaste. Hope you are doing well and enjoying your successful careers.

I am writing this letter because there is something important that needs to be said. You both have achieved so much, and we respect that. But let me tell you about the struggles of people who work in your companies. We are humans, not machines, and we have other responsibilities in life too.

You both earn crores every year and can afford people to cook, clean, and do all household work for you. But for us middle-class people, weekends are not for relaxing; they are for doing everything that gets ignored during the week. We wash clothes, clean the house, buy groceries, and even try to spend some time with our kids. Do middle-class families not deserve family time? Are we only here to work?

You talk about “extraordinary results need extraordinary effort.” But what about productive working hours? Companies like Google and META became successful not because they forced their employees to work 90 hours a week, but because they understood how to make employees happy and efficient. Do you think forcing people to sit in front of a laptop for 10-12 hours a day will make them more productive? It only makes them tired and frustrated.

I don’t know about mental health theories, but I know one thing—rest is necessary. Whether it is spending time with family, relaxing, or just taking a break from screens, it is important. Who gave you the right to take away our weekends? We work hard all week; don’t we deserve a break?

Instead of making people work more, why don’t you focus on making work smarter? Trust your employees; they are not fools. If they are given proper time and resources, they will deliver amazing results without being treated like machines.

This letter is not just for you but for everyone who thinks longer working hours mean more productivity. Please remember, people’s lives are not just about work. Show some humanity and respect for the people who are actually helping build your companies.

Yours sincerely,
A Frustrated Middle-Class Employee

Anand Mahindra’s take on these comments by L&T chairman and Infosys Founder:

On a lighter note: 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗟&𝗧 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸.

#90hourweek  #70hourweek

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