Companies pushing employees too hard can’t maintain this pace, shift in mindset is essential: Zoho CEO

Amid ongoing discussions in Indian corporate circles regarding workplace stress, Sridhar Vembu, CEO and Co-founder of Zoho, has asserted that companies that exert excessive pressure on their employees will struggle to maintain their operational pace. He emphasized the necessity of adopting a "different" mindset to foster long-term and sustainable organizations.

In a recent interview with PTI, Vembu highlighted several factors contributing to employee distress, including burnout, feelings of loneliness after relocating to major cities, lengthy commutes, and challenging work environments. He described these conditions as creating a "very big pressure cooker" atmosphere for workers.

Vembu elaborated extensively on his belief that regulation of major technology firms is necessary, highlighting the critical role of 'standards' in curbing the emergence and dominance of digital monopolies.

A case in point is messaging services which operate in silos, he said and questioned "(when) email is not a monopoly, why should messaging be a monopoly".

Sridhar Vembu addressed the topic of workplace stress by stating that, after dedicating 27-28 years to his career, he is eager to continue working for another 28 years if possible. However, he firmly opposes the reckless work pace that can lead to burnout for both himself and his employees.

"I have been around 27-28 years, and I want to work another 28 years, if possible, but that means I cannot burn myself out. I don't want any of our people to burn themselves out," he added.

His remarks are particularly relevant in light of the recent tragic death of a young employee at a leading consultancy firm, which sparked a significant social media backlash and ignited a vigorous discussion in corporate India regarding high workplace stress levels.

This incident, along with others in recent weeks, has highlighted the critical issues surrounding the social and mental well-being of employees and the necessity for achieving a work-life balance.

Depression and Burnout

Sridhar Vembu, CEO of Zoho, pointed out that depression and burnout are pressing concerns, stressing the importance of maintaining a "balance." He asserted that any company that exerts excessive pressure on its employees is unlikely to sustain such an approach over the long term.

"And then there is a second factor. We are bringing young people from various places, smaller towns into big cities. And the first problem is, of course, loneliness. They come into the workforce, lonely. And we see this problem ourselves... We have encountered this. The second thing is, of course, commuting, and 1-2 hour commute is now becoming increasingly the norm in our cities, Bengaluru being a classic example," he said.

As loneliness, lengthy commutes, and stressful work environments take their toll, overwhelming workloads only exacerbate the situation.

"... So you already have loneliness, long-commutes, stressful work condition... So, you are throwing people into a very big pressure cooker, and very tragically, some people break, other people are broken," he said.

As loneliness, lengthy commutes, and stressful work environments take their toll, overwhelming workloads only exacerbate the situation.

"India has emerged as a very strong player in this area. In fact, we are a global leader in this. I don't believe any other country has this much DPI investment going on, and these many standards coming out... be it ONDC, the health stack, and all of that. And in this, we are leapfrogging much of the developed world," he said.