'Not A Lot Of History Of Laziness Awarded Success': Indian-American CEO Calls for Long Working Hours

Niraj Shah, an Indian-American chief executive officer (CEO) of online furniture firm Wayfair, has in a note to employees called for long working hours and blending “work with life”. It comes after Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy recently also urged the youth to put in 70 hours a week into work.

“Winning requires hard work. I believe that most of us, being ambitious individuals, find fulfilment in the joy of seeing our efforts materialize into tangible results,” Niraj Shah told employees earlier this month, according to CNN.

In the note the CEO also said, “Working long hours, being responsive, blending work and life, is not anything to shy away from. There is not a lot of history of laziness being rewarded with success.”

Shah also shared insights on how money should be spent and urged the employees to negotiate prices. “Would you spend money on that, would you spend that much money for that thing, does that price seem reasonable, and lastly — have you negotiated the price?” he asked the employees in the note.

Wayfair is an e-commerce company based in Boston, Massachusetts. In 2022, the company laid off 5 per cent of its workforce to save costs. However, according to the CEO note, the company is now back to the profit.

“Together we can win much faster than we are winning now if we all row in this direction together. Let’s be aggressive, pragmatic, frugal, agile, customer-oriented, and smart,” the Wayfair CEO told employees.