hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2

cups of coffee.

front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large

and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He

then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the

jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas

between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was

full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.

Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the

jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table

and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the

empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor as the laughter subsided, "I want you to

recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the

important things–your family, your children, your health, your friends

and your favorite passions–and if everything else was lost and only

they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other

things that matter like your job, your house and your car. The sand is

everything else–the small stuff. "If you put the sand into the jar

first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf

balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on

the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are

important to you. "Pay attention to the things that are critical to your

happiness. Play with your children. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play

another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the

disposal. Take care of the golf balls first–the things that really matter.

Set your priorities. The rest is just sand." One of the students

raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor

smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how

full your life may seem, there's always room

for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

Karnataka. He is known not just for building the biggest IT empire in

India but also for his simplicity. Almost every important dignitary

visits Infosys campus. He delivered an interesting speech during an employee

session with another IT company in India . He is incidentally, one of

thetop 50 Influencial people of Asia according to an Asiaweek publication

and also the new IT Advisor to the Thailand Prime Minister.

Extract of Mr. Narayana Murthy's Speech during Mentor Session :

do so because of a work emergency where the long hours are only temporary.

Other people I know have put in these hours for years. I don't know if

they are working all these hours, but I do know they are in the office

this long. Others put in long office hours because they are addicted to

the workplace.

Whatever the reason for putting in overtime, working long hours over

the long term is harmful to the person and to the organization. There are

things managers can do to change this for everyone's benefit. Being in

the office long hours, over long periods of time, makes way for potential

errors. My colleagues who are in the office long hours frequently make

mistakes caused by fatigue.

Correcting these mistakes requires their time as well as the time and

energy of others. I have seen people work Tuesday through Friday to

correct mistakes made after 5 PM on Monday. Another problem is that

people who are in the office long hours are not pleasant company. They often

complain about other people (who aren't working as hard); they are

irritable, or cranky, or even angry. Other people avoid them. Such

behaviour poses problems, where work goes much better when people work

together instead of avoiding one another.

As Managers, there are things we can do to help people leave the

office. First and foremost is to set the example and go home ourselves. I work

with a manager who chides people for working long hours. His words

quickly lose their meaning when he sends these chiding group e-mails with a

time-stamp of 2 AM, Sunday.

Second is to encourage people to put some balance in their lives. For

instance, here is a guideline I find helpful:

1) Wake up, eat a good breakfast, and go to work.

2) Work hard and smart for eight or nine hours.

3) Go home.

4) Read the books/comics, watch a funny movie, dig in the dirt, play

with your kids, etc. 5) Eat well and sleep well.

This is called recreating. Doing steps 1, 3, 4, and 5 enable step 2.

Working regular hours and recreating daily are simple concepts. They

are hard for some of us because that requires 'personal change'. They are

possible since we all have the power to choose to do them.

In considering the issue of overtime, I am reminded of my oldest son.

When he was a toddler, if people were visiting the apartment, he would not

fall asleep no matter how long the visit, and no matter what time of day it

was. He would fight off sleep until the visitors left.It was as if he

was afraid that he would miss something. Once our visitors' left, he would

go to sleep. By this time, however, he was over tired and would scream

through half the night with nightmares. He, my wife, and I, all paid

the price for his fear of missing out. Perhaps some people put in such long

hours because they don't want to miss anything when they leave the

office. The trouble with this is that events will never stop happening. That is

life !! Things happen 24 hours a day. Allowing for little rest is not

ultimately practical. So, take a nap. Things will happen while you're

asleep, but you will have the energy to catch up when you wake.

Hence…

"LOVE YOUR JOB, BUT NEVER FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR COMPANY BECAUSE YOU