It is difficult for companies that put more pressure on employees to maintain momentum: Zoho CEO
Amid the ongoing industry debate over workplace stress, technology company Zoho CEO and co-founder Sridhar Vembu has said that companies that put ‘too much’ pressure on employees will not be able to maintain their momentum in the market. .
He said that building a long-term and sustainable organization requires a ‘different’ mindset. Industrialist and social entrepreneur Vembu, in an exclusive interview with PTI, said that fatigue, loneliness, long journeys and stressful work conditions after migration to big cities 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 monopolies. On the issue of stress at the workplace, 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. “And then there is 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. “With all these things you are putting people in a huge pressure cooker situation,” Vembu said. 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.”
“I believe we have to diversify geographically,” he said. “Not every activity should be in one 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 in any other country there is so much investment in digital infrastructure and so many standards coming up… whether it is ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce) or technology infrastructure in the health sector. With all this going on, we are way ahead of the developed world.
