"Why do we work?" I’ve often wondered. "For self-fulfillment" is an argument I’ve frequently heard. But I’m not so sure about it because, with work, come commitments, responsibilities, and deadlines.
You almost always work for someone. That’s well known in the case of 9-to-6 office workers, but it holds true for most other areas as well.
Are you a singer? You sing for those who pay for your concert tickets or stream your songs.
Do you play a sport well? You play for those who cheer from the galleries.
Do you create sculptures from sand or stone? You build for those who can afford to pay.
It’s alright. Resources are limited, and every activity costs us something. And money—well, money comes from those who appreciate what we have to offer.
That’s how the world works. As a society, we’ve grown up hearing phrases like "Do what you love," but in reality, it’s more like "Do what will get you money." Life is about living and enjoying the things you love, but work? Work is often just the means to fuel that life.
Of course, some fortunate people are doing exactly what their hearts desire for a living. But society as a whole cannot afford that luxury.
A healthy society needs soulful music as much as it needs clean public toilets. Both tasks are essential, yet it’s easy to tell which one is more likely to be done out of passion, and which out of necessity.
By now, I think I’ve established that the work we do is simply a means to live.
But that brings us to an even bigger question: "Why do we live?"
That question has plagued humanity for ages. And honestly, I don’t know.
No human—or any life form—is born by their own accord, but we have to live through it nevertheless.
The way I see it, life is our one shot to experience the many different shades of the world we live in! To witness the magic of crystal-clear blue lakes or lush green forests.
To tease our taste buds with the myriad of delicacies.
To sit back and talk with loved ones—friends or family—sipping cold beer or hot chai.
Life is the one shot we get. And work is nothing but a means to fuel that life.
"Work-life balance" is an interesting term because the purpose of work is to support or balance our lives.
Unfortunately, society is designed in a way that many of us have to grind through work for a major part of life just to sustain ourselves.
"Hustle culture" and "grind" are words that pathetically attempt to glorify or stylize overworking.
And the most shameful aspect of it is how some wealthy entrepreneurs advocate for overworking in the name of "culture" or whatever nonsense they want to sell.
Narayana Murthy, the billionaire founder of Infosys, unapologetically asked young Indians to "slave away" for seventy hours a week. Yes, in a world where developed countries are leaning towards four-day work weeks, here we have a tech mogul suggesting we go back to the days of indentured labor.
Why, you ask? Perhaps it’s because working seventy hours a week might be the only way to build a fortune large enough to casually gift a four-month-old grandson shares worth 240 crores.
Bhavish Aggarwal, the CEO of Ola, recently claimed that weekends are outdated concepts in India. This, coming from the leader of a company that manufactures "reliable" electric scooters—though they seem to spend more time in service centers than on the roads.
Is this what we should aspire to? A culture where rest is seen as a luxury and subpar products are the norm, all in the name of endless work and productivity?
Indians are among the most overworked people in the world, and quite coincidentally, one of the unhappiest as well.
The unhealthy work-life balance in India came to light recently with the tragic passing of Anna Sebastian, an employee at a corporate firm. Her mother’s open letter blamed the extreme workload Anna faced at her employer, which left her sleepless, drained, and exhausted. Much has already been written about her, so I won’t dwell on it. Let her rest in peace.
Despite long hours and tight deadlines being a reality in several IT firms, the sector is still relatively better off than others.
Most IT companies have a five-day week, and many employees have the option of flexible working hours and the privilege of working from home.
Not all sectors are so fortunate.
Medical services come to mind. My own sister works in healthcare, and I’ve seen the absolute inhumanity with which medicos are forced to grind.
Most of the time, undergrads or postgrads have duty from morning till evening, with a special "twenty-four-hour" shift coming their way every now and then.
A normal person might question the ethics of a 24-hour shift, but it gets worse. Let me explain with a real-world example.
Suppose a medico has a 24-hour duty tomorrow. They report at 9 AM and work until 8 AM the next day—meaning, they deal with patients day and night, sacrificing their sleep. And the worst part? The duty doesn’t end after 24 hours! They might get a one-hour break before they have to report back for the day shift.
That’s over 30 hours straight.
For a discipline that studies human health, I can’t fathom how such a grueling schedule was developed—with no regard for their own well-being.
Of course, we’re talking about an essential service. But why put one person through thirty or forty hours of work? Why not have shorter shifts?
If there aren’t enough doctors, why not increase seats in medical schools? Why create this artificial scarcity?
Moving on from medicos and techies, many other workers spend long hours at work just to maintain a decent standard of living.
Everyone is in a race. Competing to keep their businesses running as long as possible, to attract as many customers as possible—because customers translate to money. But what about the workers?
What about the unseen sunsets? The unattended family functions? The missed hangouts? The unwritten stories? The unslept beds? The unheard birds chirping?
I’ve been rambling for a while now, and I guess it’s time to conclude. This is in no way written to downplay the significance of work.
Work is important. It always has been.
It’s work that gave us everything from beautiful monuments to soaring aircraft to captivating motion pictures—and clean public toilets.
Work has always been important. But it’s the obnoxiously long working hours eating away at our waking moments that need to be called out.
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