DBS CEO Says Work-Life Balance Is ‘Baloney’, Important To Ensure Staff Feel Like Family

DBS CEO Piyush Gupta Says Work Is Part Of Life & The Two Can’t Be Divorced

While employees in Singapore have said they prefer flexible work arrangements, they may be out of luck if they work at DBS Bank.

Their Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Piyush Gupta has said in an interview that work-life balance is “baloney”.

To balance this, however, he thinks ensuring staff feel like “part of a family” to get a good work outcome is important.

DBS CEO talks about work & life in CNA interview

Mr Gupta said this in an interview with Channel NewsAsia (CNA) posted on 8 July as part of a podcast series named “The Leader’s Chair”.

The remarks were made in reply to a question posed to him about how people who scold employees for work mishaps might say, “It’s work, it’s not personal”.

Host Crispina Robert felt that being scolded about work is “always personal” because “work is such an important part of your life”.

Work has impact on several aspects of life

Mr Gupta agreed wholeheartedly, pointing out that people typically spend 8 to 10 hours a day at work.

That means your work impacts several aspects of your life, including your friends, growth and income.

So work and life can’t be easily separated, he maintained, saying,

How do you divorce that from life?

Thus, the notion that something is personal while something else isn’t is “not easy”, he added.

Work-life balance is baloney: DBS CEO

Applying this principle to work-life balance, Mr Gupta thus proclaimed that he believes it’s “all baloney”.

Of course, he clarified, that doesn’t mean he wants people to work all the time.

In fact, he regards himself as “very eclectic” as he has a lot of time for the things he does.

He just believes that work is a part of life, he said.

Staff should feel like part of a family

Since work is such an important part of life, Mr Gupta also believes that people in the workplace have got to be “friends”.

Staff should ideally feel even closer than that, as he said,

You have got to be able to make sure people feel like they’re part of a family.

To do that, he said, “You got to make sure that the emotional environment is one of being together and being one.”

If that’s achieved, the company will get “really extraordinary work outcomes”, he added.

DBS CEO says he’s accountable for problems no matter what they are

What about when not-so-extraordinary outcomes arise, though?

Mr Gupta was also asked about his challenges, including with regard to service disruptions like the ones in March and May this year, as well as in November 2021.

The CEO responded that he believes having a sense of accountability is important for a leader.

He referenced a phrase that former United States President Harry S. Truman displayed on his desk:

The buck stops here.

That creates its own set of pressures and challenges, he added, as no matter the nature of the problem, he’s accountable for it as the CEO.

So as far as the customer is concerned, he’s got to fix it. Thus, Mr Gupta said he does take personal responsibility for problems.

It’s worth noting that he has personally apologised for the recent service disruptions. In a statement sent to MS News in May, he said the bank is “committed to doing better” as their customers “rightly expect more” of them.

After the March disruption, Mr Gupta apologised to shareholders during an annual general meeting, adding the emergence of these problems “embarrasses” the bank.

While the DBS CEO is a well-known name even outside banking circles, it’s certainly illuminating to get a sense of the man himself during the interview, where he also shared his management style and answered rapid-fire questions. Watch the full video here.

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Featured image adapted from Piyush Gupta on LinkedIn. Photo for illustration purposes only.