'No rona dhona' startup founder apologises for LinkedIn post encouraging 18-hour workdays

Bombay Shaving Company founder and CEO Shantanu Deshpande, who got infamous across the social media portals due to his "work 18-hour a day" comment, has apologised for his views. In a fresh LinkedIn post, which he called his "last", the chief of the personal care and grooming brand wrote, "To those who were hurt by my post - apologies for the same. I recognise the need for nuance and context."

Previously, Deshpande had said that youngsters should throw themselves into their work when they are 22 and new at their job. He had advised young workers to work for at least 18 hours a day in the first 4-5 years and not do "random rona-dhona".

This didn't go well with the netizens, who trolled him brutally for "glorification of modern slavery" and promoting "toxic work culture".

His latest post, the apologetic one, got mixed response from the LinkedIn users. Some lauded him for his "honesty", while few advised him not to "do random rona-dhona", and "take it on the chin".

Deshpande's earlier comments came amid the phenomenon called 'quiet quitting' which has gained prominence among youngsters. It has nothing to do with actual quitting but is the opposite of the hustle culture, where employees are prioritising their mental and physical health by not going above and beyond at work. Instead, they are choosing to do only what they are paid to do and nothing more.