Shantanu Deshpande, Founder and Chief Executive of Bombay Shaving Company, faced severe criticism on social media for his LinkedIn post on Tuesday that advised freshers to work 18 hours a day instead of looking for work-life balance and told them “don’t do random rona-dhona (cribbing)”.
Deshpande wrote that when you are 22 and new in your job, throw yourself into it.
“Eat well and stay fit, but put in the 18-hour days for at least 4-5 years,” he advised.
“Don’t do random rona-dhona. Take it on the chin and be relentless. You will be way better for it,” Deshpande added.
The post triggered a chain reaction across social media platforms, with youngsters slamming Bombay Shaving Company CEO for his comments.
At a time when mass layoffs by Indian startups has become a norm, Shantanu Deshpande, Founder CEO of @BombayShavingCo is not only vouching for a toxic work culture, but also justifying himself even after people have called out his opinion on LinkedIn. What do you think about it? pic.twitter.com/JHfWBczAgL
— Anshul (@ansh_isb) August 30, 2022
“People like you are why workers are quitting in droves. You and your business deserve to crash and burn,” one LinkedIn user replied.
“In a generation of knowledge workers, I wonder when we will stop equating hours with output/results. It’s not an industrial revolution anymore with factory workers,” another posted.
A Twitter user said: “Why stop at 18? Why not work 24 or 48 hours straight and build even more ‘flex’? That way, you won’t even have to take it just on your chin, but on your entire body and mind too.”
Deshpande posted that he sees a lot of youngsters who watch random content all over and convince themselves that “work-life balance, spending time with family, rejuvenation” is important.
“It is, but not that early. That early, worship your work. Whatever it is. The flex you build in the first 5 years of your career carries you for the rest of it,” he wrote.
After facing the criticism, he later wrote that “so much hate for 18-hour days” but “it’s a proxy for ‘giving your all and then some”.
“For those wondering about the culture at BSC (Bombay Shaving Company), feel free to come any time or talk to any of our people”, he added.
