'If you were to die…': This company's head designer's advice on work ethic sparks internet debate

CRED’s head of design, Harish Sivaramakrishnan, has recently started a discussion within the tech industry after making some comments about product design. In a LinkedIn video recently, he encouraged designers to work as if their lives depended on it, literally meaning working as if they were to die.

The following remarks were made regarding what he perceived as a rather laid-back attitude to the creation of products, and he was emphatic about the requirement for precision no matter the time constraints involved.

Sivaramakrishnan’s statement, “If you were to die the next day, you should be insanely proud of the detail that you drove into that release,” has been received with approval and disapproval. Mona Singh, one of the supporters, said that he encouraged them to pay attention to minor aspects that make a huge difference in their work.

However, many others used the same social media to ridicule the idea of work accomplishments being relevant during one’s last days on earth. One user said they would rather focus on what they want to do before they die than product details, and another said that thoughts of the best interest of the shareholders would be the last thing on their mind at such a moment.

The backlash has generated discussions about work-life balance and what the tech industry expects people to do with their lives, or more simply, more work. As much as Sivaramakrishnan would like to see high-quality output and an overemphasis on design, critics would like to think that life is more than business and work; it is about people and experiences.

In response to the criticism, Sivaramakrishnan reemphasised his earlier position on the need to work hard in the development of the products. He said that working under pressure might give one a sense of accomplishment for some time but produces low-quality work. His point of view is similar to many people in the industry who argue for the need to do things fast but at the same time do them right.