'Don't do random rona-dhona': Startup founder's advice to work 18 hrs a day kicks the hornet's nest

Shantanu Deshpande, founder and CEO of personal care and grooming brand Bombay Shaving Company, has given his two cents to youngsters entering the workforce fresh from college. Deshpande said in a LinkedIn post that youngsters should throw themselves into their work when they are 22 and new at their job.  He advised young workers to work for at least 18 hours a day in the first 4-5 years and not do "random rona-dhona". The entrepreneur also mentioned that work life balance, family time and rejuvenation is all good and important but not at such an early stage. His comments, naturally, have not gone down well with netizens.

He went onto say, “That early, worship your work. Whatever it is. The flex you build in the first five years of your career carries you for the rest of it. Don’t do random rona-dhona. Take it on the chin and be relentless. You will be way better for it.”  Furthermore, Deshpande said, “Yikes. So much hate for 18 hour days. It’s a proxy for ‘giving your all and then some.’ ”

Deshpande’s take has not gone down well with netizens as many called him out for ‘glorification of modern slavery’ and promoting toxic work culture. “The most efficient employee leaves work on time, brother. The happiest employee has a life outside of work. Never expected glorification of modern slavery from you,” entrepreneur Vivek Surendran commented under Deshpande’s post. 

Assistant Vice President at Deutsche Bank Siddharth Panvalkar went hammer-and-tongs against Deshpande’s pitch favouring overworking and hustle culture. Panvalkar wrote, “How many of those pursuing a professional education get jobs at 22?” He went on to advise youngsters to focus on their jobs, understand the basics, attempt at gaining deeper knowledge, being open to experiment till 25 and learning how to connect the dots with an open mind. 

A user named AJ wrote on LinkedIn, “18 hours! Really? And there’s a big difference between giving it your all and putting in unrealistic hours. That’s how toxic work culture is born.”

Deshpande’s comments come as the phenomenon called ‘quiet quitting’ has started to gain prominence among youngsters. Under ‘quiet quitting’, employees keep their physical and mental health and choose to do only what they are paid to do and nothing more than that. This trend became famous after people were forced to reevaluate work-life balance and reflect on what matters the most due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Also read: What is 'Quiet Quitting'? The opposite of hustle culture