Tag: WFH

Nestle chief Suresh Narayanan on WFH, learnings from COVID and why he washes dishes twice

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

In an interview with broking firm Jefferies, Nestle India chief Suresh Narayanan talked about his and the company’s response to COVID-19, the changes brought about in working-from-home and how companies will have to change in light of the crisis.

Excerpts from the interview.

Gearing up for the crisis

Personally, my wife and I have worked in various difficult geographies. I have spent 5 years in Egypt during the Arab spring, so I know a thing or two about what happens when the whole city and the whole country comes to a grinding halt. We have lived through it with a lot of pragmatism, calmness and maturity. When you are calm and mature then you handle it with the respect it deserves. The reason for this calamity is that we do not treat the pandemic with the respect it deserves.

Currently, I have a small space at my home as my office and every day, I login at 9 am and log off at 6:30-7:00 pm. The space is strictly used as an office area.

Does work-from-home work?

Three things have turned out to be beneficial due to working from home.

First, meetings have become more planned. When you are in the office, many unscheduled meetings happen, when you meet someone and decide to sit down and discuss. Now, meetings are very limited and focused.

Second, enablement and empowerment has increased. Personally, I have increased the empowerment of people.

Third, is the increased sense of responsibility. I think we love to be supervised but work better when empowered. The responsibility part has increased much more.

What Suresh Narayanan misses the most

I miss meeting my people the most. Somedays I get up a little disappointed as I don’t see them. In the office, when I am not around, people used to highlight my absence and I would feel happy because I knew that they look forward to my visit. In the post COVID era, I would like to shake hands with people, pat them on the back and would like to chat sitting next to them.

Taking up household chores

My wife is quite exacting in the standards she wants. Good to have a wife that knocks your head when your colleagues don’t knock you on the head. I try to help once in a while in cooking which I like or involve myself in cleaning vessels. I have discovered a new penchant in doing the dishes. I don’t do too much of it, but I do a little bit of it. Because my wife’s standards are so exacting, I wash them twice. I haven’t tried to sweep as my wife isn’t happy about the outcome.

Changes in the consumer goods industry because of COVID-19

The channels are undergoing sharp change. If you look at e-commerce channels, in the US what took 8 years in terms of penetration has been achieved in 8 weeks. Clearly the e-commerce journey is here to stay and there will be re-calibration of channels. I think the winners of the game would be e-commerce platforms if they are able to ramp up the infrastructure.

The good old Kirana stores will come back into figure because they will have location advantage, service to home delivery advantage, assortment advantage and credit advantage. If there is a lockdown in the future, you can run down to them and get whatever you want, and you can keep your kitchen and household going for a couple of days. I think the old Kirana stores will become a friendlier place to shop because of social distancing, sanitization and hygiene norms.

Organized trade would undergo a rejig. There are platforms that offer convenience, better assortment or better prices. These guys will probably be the winners. Those who are just large boxes talking about the shopping experience, they might need to recalibrate themselves because the fact is that shopping experiences will probably have to wait for some time.

Then, of course, you have got players like Jio who are coming and shaking up the whole space. They are transcending traditional trade, e-commerce and the modern retail format. They also tend to redefine rules of engagement.

How Nestle is helping the ecosystem

I think three Ps are extremely important and come before the fourth P that is profit. The 3 Ps are People, Purpose and Partnerships. We made sure that people are safe and have work from home facilities. We have almost ten to twelve thousand front line people who work as distributor salesman, loaders, merchandisers and they all are humble people who get ten to fifteen thousand as monthly salaries. These are front line people, who are out there every day, servicing half a million outlets that we reach as a company. The first decision was to get them on ‘Nestle Suraksha’, which provides them with COVID insurance.

I believe that, if every organization were to invest as much in culture as in capex, they would be far more profitable. Every worker who comes to the factory is taking risk due to COVID, so we have started a program called ‘Nestle Samman’, where we gave them substantial incentives to come everyday.

The third thing is about training and counselling. We are 70 percent millennials as a company. If I am 22 or 25 years old, then this pandemic is a first, and a traumatic experience. People could be away from their family and could be locked up in a small apartment. So, to help them, we have counselling support. We have a 24×7 medical online service developed in partnership with SOS, which allows our employees to consult a doctor on any aspect related to COVID.

Several training programs were given during this period as this is the time when people can upgrade their skills. This is the time we live to our purpose, and we live in the respectful practices of our company.

Nestle works with a large number of MSMEs like those who make cartons or supply indirect materials etc. We have ensured that not a single MSME working with Nestle should go under.

Overall learning from the crisis

This is not just a healthcare catastrophe, this is also a humanitarian call. I really see the COVID crisis as a humanitarian call to redefine the way in which humans live, engage and work. I think from that point of view this should be seen as a serious wake-up call for humanity, corporates and other stakeholders of society. This is a call to lead lives in kinder, gentler, more generous and compassionate ways. How much of it we will absorb and how much of it we won’t I don’t know.

There is a famous quote from Nassim Nicholas Taleb that the most incompetent people occupy the highest offices in the world and the most competent people are the humblest who stay in villages because they know what it takes to lead lives. So, I guess this recalibration might happen as we go along.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

COVID-19 Lockdown: How to build your immunity levels and eat right while working from home

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

So we are all under house arrest for the next three weeks. And we are either working from home (WFH) or taking care of household stuff; either way, it’s a change of scenario and one often reaches out to food for solace or out of boredom or just depression.  Whatever the reason, make sure the house is stocked with food that you can actually use to build your immunity in these tough times and not destroy it.

So let’s understand how different foods impact our immunity.

1–Carbohydrates: We have all heard that sugar is bad for us. Let’s understand what it does to our immune system. When we consume too much sugar, a process called glycation occurs, in which, sugar sticks to proteins and that impairs the function of the immune system.

Sugars can not only greatly reduce immunity through glycation, but also increase inflammation. And we certainly don’t need excess of inflammation at this time. Sugars are the single most inflammatory food group.

So avoid juices and candies and excessive white bread and mindless eating of processed chips and biscuits that cause sugar spikes and stick with complex carbohydrates like whole fruits and vegetables and whole grains and vegetables which are good, complex carbohydrates instead.

2–Protein – Protein is essential for building immunity. Especially, to fight viruses, one needs antibodies, so if you don’t have enough antibodies you can’t fight the virus. And antibodies are proteins.

Also, it is not what you eat, but what you assimilate that really makes a difference. Proteins that come, say from eggs, are a great source of usable protein because of the branch chain amino acids in them.

Other sources of protein would be all meats and fish. And vegetarians should have more nuts, seeds, cheese, and vegetables like green peas, mushrooms, and legumes.

3–Fats– Good fats like omega 3 fat are both anti-inflammatory and helpful to your immune system.

Good fats help immune function by increasing cell membrane flexibility and permeability. Immune cells are better able to gobble up viruses and bacteria while vitamins are absorbed better when you have more good fats! Especially vitamin A, D, E and K. So please don’t fear eating good fats.

Try to include 1 teaspoon of fish oil every day. And include naturals good fats like coconuts, nuts, seeds and, olives and avocado if available.

4–Vitamin- C Vitamin C is important for phagocytosis, ie engulfing the viruses and bacteria. Vitamin C though must compete with glucose to enter into white cells. so if one has consumed too much glucose from having eaten sugar and simple carbohydrates in their diet, vitamin C won’t be able to do its job.

The bottom line, eating extra sugar actually hinders the absorption of vitamin C .

Add lemon, citrus fruits ,amla in your diet.

A good recommended dose of vitamin c is 1000 mg per day. It’s a good idea to split the dose into 500 MG twice a day as it only circulates in the blood for a few hours. That way, along with your diet, you’ll have adequate levels of vitamin C through the entire day.

5-Vitamin D- So, We call it a vitamin, but it’s actually a hormone and it’s also an immune modulator. most of us Indians are very low in Vitamin D, so we should take supplements to correct the deficiency. Also, given we have to stay indoors for the next three weeks (at least ), try to get as much sunlight as possible by sitting near the window as vitamin D will increase immunity. Sadly, Very little vitamin d is available from food sources. So speak to your doctor and take the required dose as a supplement. Vitamin D  deficiency is also linked to depression. So, especially at these times, when morale is already low, please go get that sunlight!

6-Zinc- Zinc helps fight off both bacteria and viruses. Zinc deficient people are known to be susceptible to a variety of pathogens. The body also needs zinc to make proteins which as explained ,is essential for strong immunity.

All meats, especially shellfish are a very high source of zinc . legumes , grains, nuts, seeds, eggs are also rich sources of zinc so make sure to include these in your diet.

And finally, do include natural anti-inflammatories and immune builders which are present in every Indian kitchen.

From turmeric and black pepper to ginger and coconut oil, are all very good to protect against pathogens.

7-Exercise- This not only releases the good happy hormone, endorphins but is also good for immunity. Over-exercising though may actually backfire and lower your immunity.

8-Sleep– Adequate sleep improves immune cells known as ‘T cells’ that fight against pathogens, for example, virus-infected cells, like the flu and kills those cells.

The stress hormone, cortisol is also low when you sleep well. High levels of cortisol are known to reduce immune function.

A lot of people also take sleeping pills. And some of the longer-acting ones, can actually reduce immunity. So please speak to your doctor if you can switch to a shorter-acting one.

Let’s do what is in our control through nutrition and lifestyle to increase our immunity and be healthy and happy in these trying times

Stay safe, stay healthy.

Vishakha Shivdasani is a medical doctor specializing in lifestyle and chronic  diseases like obesity, diabetes,PCOS etc.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

21-day #TotalLockdown: Self-improvement hacks while working from home

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Well, it’s happening… To battle the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced a 21-day #TotalLockdown effective till April 15, mandating everyone to stay home so that virus’ transmission cycle can be broken. 21 days! Ufff… that is a long time to be cooped up at home. But, it isn’t necessarily a bad thing. There’s a lot that you and I can do at home –to stay sane and fit at the same time. One popular belief is that it takes 21 days to form a habit. Well, here are your 21 days. Make the most of it! Still not sure what to do? Check out the list below:

1. Silence is Golden – Meditating for 15 mins twice a day, every day, to get in touch in with, well yourself. Anxiety is bound to be peaking right about now. Taking care of your mental health as well as that of your family is vital. Meditation can help calm the nerves, bring clarity on one’s choices and help you introspect and focus on the tasks you got to do.

2. Learn a skill online – The only way ahead is forward. There is no turning back, no crying over the proverbial spilt milk. If you were ever wondering when you should get down to learning that one thing that you always wanted to, NOW, that time is now. Make use of that kickass Wi-FI or mobile data plan and get on YouTube to learn DIY hacks for around the home or (like me) learn how to dance, cook and even photography. Log onto sites like Lynda, Udemy to learn a professional skill. Apps like Duolingo and HelloTalk can help you learn a new language for FREE!

3. Online Gaming – I miss my friends. No more football, no more cricket, no more board games! Not all of us can get our hands on a PS4 or Xbox One. Fikar not, there are a bunch of free multi-player gaming apps that you and your amigos can battle it out on. PUBG (duhh), Call of Duty, Football Strike, World Cricket Battle to name a few. Not your cup of tea? Love board games? Checkout Pysch!, Connect 4, Scrabble and a whole host of free games.

4. Podcasts – There are a bunch of really good podcasts out there talking on anything and everything from music (Kommuneity) to current affairs (Cyrus Says) to sports, business (Paisa Vaisa), comedy, film reviews, debates and so much more. I, personally would recommend John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight.

5. Audiobooks – Not a reader, but a good listener? No worries. Audiobooks got your back. LibriVox, Audible, Goodreads etc have some of the largest collections of audiobooks on almost everything under our big, yellow sun.

6. Home workouts – No gym got you worried about piling on the kilos? It shouldn’t. Thanks to social media your favourite fitness experts/celebrities are just a click away. Personalised diet plans, bodyweight workouts – choose what suits you to get that body you always wanted to go with that winning personality of yours. But remember, discipline is key here.

7. Clean up your home – Yeah, that thing which your mother bugged you as a kid to do and well didn’t. Regular cleaning/ sanitising is the need of the hour to battle the spread of coronavirus. Without your dependable bai, it’s up to you and me to do the ghar ka jhaadoo-khatka, scrub those vessels, dust that bookshelf. You might just get used to it (21 days to form a habit remember?)

8. Video Call – Call on your family, your old friends and see how they are doing and if there’s anything you can help them with. A reassuring face can be the difference between staying sane and losing it completely. I’ve been putting this off for a long time now. Got no more excuses. Let’s start those conversations now.

9. Maintain a diary, online or in long hand — Even if only for 21 days – It will be fun to look back at it in some years, or even months. It could even serve as a ‘how to’ or ‘Dos and don’ts’ guide during a lockdown, for future generations.

And finally once you’ve done all of the above, treat yourself to some ‘chill’. Netflix, Prime, Voot, Hotstar, etc are adding newer content as you read to make sure you don’t run out of things to binge on. Go ahead, you’ve earned it.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow