When Arshad Kunnummal of Karma & Co decided to set out on his own, he did not care for a
conventional working space or for a conventional working hour. Like any
millennial, he was and is about delivery, come rain, snow or any other
obstacle. Today as the world celebrates Labour Day and takes a day break there
are people who are working hard not just out of need but due to demands of the
present-day economic system.
Arshad Kunummal conducts corporate
reorientation programs and has clients in the country and abroad. When the Café
spoke to him, he was enjoying a day break but he says that is usually not the
case. He has worked on weekends for his international clients to help them meet
their goals. He said” The old paradigm has certainly changed. The pressures on
bottom lines are intense. My clients in Mumbai are demanding as hell and
sometimes it requires long nights sitting sometimes in a coffee shop in another
city in the country or even in a restaurant.” He ended by saying that an
holiday is an holiday but when there is work, it needs to get done pronto.
The fees charged by these executives may
be on the heftier side but the proviso of ensuring success following their way
adds to the pressure. A management consultant based in Goa who did not want to
be named said the old work space concepts, working timings have all evaporated
thanks to technology. He said “I have a very good laptop and a great internet
connection and I am set. I work across time zones because I have a client in
Austria in addition to companies in Bengaluru and Mumbai who take my advice. It
is a demanding tough life. There have been times when I have worked very very
long hours for seven days of the week. My parents are bemused but they
understand this is a different world from theirs and the demands are different.
I am talking to you sitting in a caje shop working on my laptop communicating
with you and my client in Bengaluru”.
This work style may not be confined to the world on digital or
consulting but even in interior designing. Jeet Tolani of Casadeco said he has
worked all night with his staff in a restaurant to complete the job. The client
could only give the site at night and the job had to be completed. With the
company shut on May 1, he was out meeting prospective clients and parties with
whom he could collaborate in the future. He said “I have sites outside Goa and
holidays for me mean nothing. My staff takes a break but for me I am on 24 x7”.
Perhaps the new world is not so new for Vasudev Bhatt who runs a
online portal and a website development business. He was categorical when he
said “We don’t work conventional hours; it is about providing information and
it can come anytime. This is the new reality and I am comfortable with it”.
Technology
and its resultant pressures have made the pressures in corporate life intense
forcing people to innovate and sadly give up on old more relaxing working
styles. Time will only tell us where this will all end.
