Lockdown wisdom: Kunal Bahl's idea to boost WFH culture; Marico boss, Paytm founder share inspiring tales

India Inc bosses have taken it upon themselves to inspire people.

BCCL
Kunal Bahl, Harsh Mariwala, Vijay Shekhar Sharma have found ways to inspire the people of the country.
NEW DELHI: In the past two months, the world has changed considerably. Masks, sanitisers, social distancing and work-from-home have, collectively, redefined the new normal.

Corporate India, too, has acknowledged that the environment has changed, and it is not business as usual with a lull in the economy. Virtual meetings, Zoom calls and Slack collaboration have replaced the earlier order of things as employees struggle to keep themselves motivated and carry on, every day. And, some India Inc bosses have taken it upon themselves to bring some cheer and spread positive vibes, albeit virtually.

On Friday, Kunal Bahl, the founder of Snapdeal, had an idea to make the work-from-home culture even more effective. He stressed on the need for companies to build a sense of community and culture around the purpose of work. While the shared physical experience of being at work may seem like a comparatively easier option now, he pointed out that the meaning of work is what both employers and employees need.



It’s never too late to follow your dreams, and Paytm Founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, who has been working from home like the rest of us, tweeted to that effect.

During the lockdown period, the new-age entrepreneur has been trying out several video-conferencing platforms such as Zoom & FaceTime to connect better with his team. On Friday, he said he received his first WebEx chat/call invite.

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Sharma, who has a staggering 370K followers on Twitter, also shared some trivia about the Zoom Video Communications founder. He said that Chinese-American billionaire Eric Yuan was working with WebEx when he stumbled upon the idea to build the Zoom app.


Harsh Goenka, Chairman of RPG Group, shared some Friday wisdom in the run-up to the weekend. As the Railways resumed special trains across the country, the businessman used a train reference to emphasise the need for making some effort in order to change the world. "Expecting that everything will change without putting in any effort is like waiting for an aircraft at a train station," he wrote.


The Marico team, during the pandemic, has managed to deliver essentials safely to people’s homes amidst the lockdown. Chairman Harsh Mariwala decided to encourage home-bound people to believe in themselves.

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Tired Of Never-Ending Working From Home Shift? 4 Tips To Maintain A Work-Life Balance
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Working from home has become the new normal as companies try to minimise disruptions and keep operations running as close to normal as possible. But with most of us working from home, the lines between "work" and "home" could become quickly blurred.



A few weeks ago, Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma took to Twitter to announce that he had been so wrapped up in Zoom meetings (inset from Sharma's Twitter account) that he forgot it was Sunday. And that seems to be the case with most entrepreneurs who are dealing with investor pressure and the stress of a looming economic slowdown.

Working from home has become the new normal as companies try to minimise disruptions and keep operations running as close to normal as possible. But with most of us working from home, the lines betwe..
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In a recent media interview, Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath (L) confessed, “I start work around 8.30 am and work till I sleep. I am definitely overworking, so are a few of my colleagues.”

“I had assumed that there would be more family time than before (but) the opposite has happened. Maybe I am spending lesser time than before because the boundary between work and personal time has disappeared. That said, daily I work out with my wife and play music with my son, and enjoy a drink with my brother and father once in a few days.”

If you find yourself in a similar situation as Kamath or Paytm's Vijay Shekhar Sharma (R), here are a few practical ways you can quickly establish boundaries.
In a recent media interview, Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath (L) confessed, “I start work around 8.30 am and work till I sleep. I am definitely overworking, so are a few of my colleagues.”“I had assumed t..
Read More
Working from home can be invasive to your personal life. Without scheduled work hours, work can creep into your home life and just as personal errands can creep into work hours. To avoid this, start and end your workday at the same time every day. Don’t mix household chores into work hours and vice-versa.
Working from home can be invasive to your personal life. Without scheduled work hours, work can creep into your home life and just as personal errands can creep into work hours. To avoid this, start ..
Read More
Studies have shown that having a designated workspace helps put your brain into work mode and enhances productivity. If you can’t set aside a designated workspace (due to a space crunch), try to create barriers in other ways. For example, use your laptop for work calls/meetings and use your phone to check social media or chat with friends. Having different devices for different purposes will help your brain switch from work to play mode.
Studies have shown that having a designated workspace helps put your brain into work mode and enhances productivity. If you can’t set aside a designated workspace (due to a space crunch), try to crea..
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A shutdown ritual is a set routine of actions that you perform at the end of each workday to finalize your day and signify that your workday is done. Cal Newport, the author of Deep Work, initiated it as a New Years’ resolution to get the most of his relaxation time.

“It has worked better than I imagined. I’ve basically eliminated stressful work-related thoughts from my evenings and weekends. This has really improved my ability to relax and focus on other things,” he wrote on his website.

Some activities you can include in your shutdown ritual are preparing a to-do list for the next day, going for a walk, signing up for an evening fitness class among others. The goal isn’t what you do but that you do something to replace and simulate your commute, which is a built-in shutdown ritual.
A shutdown ritual is a set routine of actions that you perform at the end of each workday to finalize your day and signify that your workday is done. Cal Newport, the author of Deep Work, initiated i..
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One way to ensure that you’re not blurring the lines between work and home is to create a no-work zone for at least an hour before you go to bed and after you wake up. This will keep your mind ample time to properly recharge.

Research shows that what you do before you go to sleep has an impact on the quality of sleep, and your engagement, your ability to focus, the next day. Passive leisure activities, like watching TV or reading a book, were associated with better sleep than doing something like answering work emails.
One way to ensure that you’re not blurring the lines between work and home is to create a no-work zone for at least an hour before you go to bed and after you wake up. This will keep your mind ample ..
Read More

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