How Can We Persuade Our Chairman to Rethink the Strict Work Hours Policy?

Dear Seniors,

I have recently joined a real estate organization. The chairman here is a first-generation entrepreneur. He has been a driver in his past life. He bought land somewhere, and in that long process, became the richest in India in terms of his wealth and land property. Now he has started his own development company in real estate.

He is very soft and empathetic to the lower grade of people like drivers, pantry staff, housekeeping, secretaries, etc. Now we are hiring a new team of professionals in all functions, but he is not caring towards those. He feels that whatever wealth he has accumulated is because of those people who worked with him in the past. He is very strict and non-understanding when it comes to these new professional teams.

We are working 9 hours, 6 days a week. Professionals expect some work-life balance in their lives. They expect at least alternate Saturdays off if not all. Our CEO has tried to convince him many times, but he refused straight all the time.

How to Convince Him for a Change in Working Hours Policy

How can I convince him as an employee champion for this change in working hours policy? He does not listen in the first place.

Kindly guide me.

I think there's one basic flaw in your argument—there are many companies in India where a 6-day week is still followed. In fact, until the IT industry took off about 20 years back, this was, by and large, the norm in any industrial segment.

Without prejudging your situation, try to make use of basic human nature—what's in it for me NOW?—to handle your Chairman.

To elaborate, in general, human nature is to check for what he/she gains in any interaction/relationship/activity—the only difference being, some have it much more than others [and some even to the extent where such an attitude hurts them, even though they don't realize it]. Your Chairman seems to be in the last category.

Factors Governing Working Days/Timings

One of the main factors that govern the laws related to Working Days/Timings is with respect to the human need to get refreshed/recharged. I suggest asking him to try out a 5-day or 5.5-day week for some time—say for a month or two and see how the efficiency levels increase among the employees. Assuming the request from the professionals' desire/request is genuine and sincere, they will definitely put in much more effort into whatever they are doing when their request is granted. Any final boss of a company would normally do anything to see that the performance improves—with minimal cost outflows. No boss would generally say NO to an idea where the employees can do 'x+y' work when earlier they used to do 'x' work in a given timeframe.

Hope you get the point.

If you can think of any other way(s) to achieve this aspect/desire in the Boss, then you can try it out too. Since your CEO too is in favor of this issue, I suggest having a brainstorming session with him and other concerned senior people and plan it out.

Caution on Over-Smart Actions

However, also please keep in mind that those who have come up the ladder the hard way are usually street-smart. So any sort of over-smart actions from your end could boomerang—meaning the professional team has to live up to the impression [performance enhancement/improvement] being given this way.

Regarding Govind Singh Negi's Suggestion

Regarding Govind Singh Negi's second suggestion—regarding attrition—it can work ONLY IF that's a current concern in your company. If not, then it won't—since the Chairman's focus would be on the CURRENT/PRESENT—most likely he wouldn't understand the full impact of this aspect, even if you mentioned it.

All the best.

Regards,
TS

Thanks for your valuable inputs, Mr. TS, but I would like to know if there is a technique where I can measure the productivity or effectiveness of the team in that one-month time to show him in concrete terms. I can propose a 5 or 5.5-day working week as an experiment for some time, let's say one month, but how will I measure the changes in terms of the performance of the employees? How will I prove that they are doing (x+y) instead of only x with this change?

Suggest DON'T take upon yourself what others ought to be doing—please remember that you are basically facilitating what the CEO and other HoDs want to be implemented. The targets you are talking about should be set by the CEO and HoDs and then should be adhered to, if not surpassed, by them. Let them take the responsibility of handling the performance of their teams. Even though you, as HR, may like to do it or are asked to take it up, try to involve them and make it THEIR decision—that way, the chances of the whole idea succeeding are higher since they have a stake in it.

All the Best.

Regards, TS

Dear Komal, I would suggest that in your company, the weekly work should comply with the law, and your company is a real estate company established under the Act of 1956. Therefore, this structure cannot be changed. However, you can suggest to your chairman ways to enhance work efficiency, safety, and quality, as these are essential. We will specify a particular timeframe for each person to understand and consider these matters. I believe it is a private company, not public, but we must still manage everything in accordance with the law.

Regards, HRD

Dear Komal, I was serving as an HR Head in a company, and I had a similar experience with a CEO who was very adamant and lacked empathy. When there was a pressing demand for the 2nd and 4th Saturdays off, and I brought it up with him, he flatly refused and advised me to be very ruthless with employees. He did not like their demand for leave on Saturdays. When absenteeism increased significantly, we assessed the reasons, and it was due to poor work-life balance. Attrition also rose, and people shifted to competitive companies. During exit interviews, they mentioned that a five-day workweek, good canteen facilities, and better salaries were crucial. These factors were highlighted not by me but by operations heads in the monthly meetings.

Advice for HR Professionals

Never, in your lifetime, should HR directly advocate for an employee's cause to the top boss. It should come from others, and we support them. Your job will be at high risk if you take these types of issues to your boss, regardless of who they are. No wonder this company eventually agreed to open a canteen, have half days on Saturdays, and provide options to work on any Sundays to compensate. Especially where women employees are more, these Saturdays will be very useful.

Considerations for Weekly Offs

If you ask me whether we should have weekly offs on two Saturdays a month, I would say frankly it will not be beneficial to the organization, as work does not progress rapidly on Fridays, and targets are not met. In a manufacturing setup, this may not be possible.

My advice: act slowly and be very strategic on such welfare measures but not aggressive.

Regards,
S. Manohar
Group HR Head
NSPL
Chennai

Thank you so much, Mr. Manohar, for your kind advice. Since you have faced such a situation in your past, your comments are worth considering. Thanks for your time and concern.

Very interesting situation - expressed very well. This is a typical case of a clash of ideologies. One feels that work is worship, and the other feels that work is for survival. One thinks that working is life, but the other feels work is part of life. One feels the organization is the family, while the other feels 'I have my own family.' We professionals (including me) always think like that and feel any problem can be solved by using IQ (sound logic), forgetting that EQ and SQ are equally important for solving even simple problems in life.

Change and Emotional Resistance

Any improvement is a change. Any change is perceived as a threat to security. Any threat to security gives rise to emotional resistance. Emotional resistance can only be overcome by stronger emotion. Anybody who thinks we can overcome emotional resistance with logic was probably never married. Bringing a change in emotions takes a lot of time and patience. Your team must bring this change in your chairman through tact. Good luck.