Importing toxic work culture to India

• An Indian woman, working for a major consultancy firm, died after a day of work exhaustion.
• Her parents publicly reported the long hours and stress she faced due to close deadlines.
• A former employee left the company due to the company’s work culture, which was criticized for its focus on “building a better working world.”
• The work culture in multinationals is attributed to the American influence, with long hours and strict targets.
• The work culture at multinationals is based on the Protestant ethic, which supports worldly activities for economic gain.
• The work culture at multinationals is not based on ergonomics or organisational psychology but is religiously extracted.

Comparing Work and Productivity in Different Countries
• The International Labour Organisation data shows that the U.S. ranks 12th globally in terms of GNP per capita in 2023.
• The U.S. has a higher productivity than other countries, including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, and Switzerland.
• The U.S.’s GNP per capita has grown faster than only Switzerland’s over half a century from 1970.
• The average hours worked per person in a year in all countries except Singapore were lower than in the U.S., indicating that it is possible to become richer even when working less.
• The length of the working day is a factor determining profits under capitalism, with the rest accruing to the capitalist as profit.
• The work culture allegedly present at the firm was not always present in India, which was courted as part of the liberalising reforms of 1991.
• The incident involving the Pune firm is a data point to gauge outcomes of the promised global best practices.
• Despite the benefits of foreign investment, multinationals have done well for themselves since.
• The incident at Pune has led to the regulation of working hours and practices in multinationals working in India, as well as those serving offshore entities.