Can the UNESCO Culture tag help reposition Calcutta's work culture?

Even the most ebullient cynic will agree that the cultural credentials of Calcutta are truly spellbinding, with the globally feted Durga Pujas being a fine proof of concept. But even the most sincere optimist will not be convinced that in terms of work ethics and productivity, the nagging perception is actually way worse than the abiding reality.

It is first necessary to calmly assess the ingredients that create work culture, a self-appointed accolade of successful economic environments, especially in the professional homogeneity of India. Invariably, it is a post facto addendum due to socio-cultural or resource-based advantages, be it Silicon Valley, Singapore, Germany, or Mumbai. When Calcutta was thriving, till the early 1970s, nobody ever complained that Bengalis were lazy and when Mumbai is now a global benchmark, folks do excuse the leisure-loving nature of native Maharashtra locals, and I do not mean the thriving trains.

To simplify even further, let’s isolate the four key elements of the societal workforce – private sector, public sector, Government servants, and politicians. Courtesy of the synergies of a unified nation for over 75 years, the state-salaried cadre behaves rather similarly from Goa to Gwalior, comparably efficient or unscrupulous whether administrators, teachers, or doctors.. Politicians also, in spite of the ED deluge in Bengal, are fairly homogeneous in conduct, whether affiliated to the national leadership or localised dilettantes and there is a defensible Indian median of efficiency. So, this leaves us with the Private Sector, the guiding beacon for a city’s economic valour and indeed of its potential to seduce both talent and investment.

Because of its unique socio-political advantages emanating from the British Raj, Calcutta was the rock star of Corporate India post-independence, and this was propelled by the ethnic diversity of the leadership. Corporations were run by global bosses and the fledgling India cadre came from every corner of the land, based purely on agreeable merit. This stature was then steadily usurped by Bombay due to trade union issues, the cross-cultural bosses felt unsafe in the city and Aditya Vikram Birla’s public humiliation was a deplorable case study. So the expats, national and international, moved Westwards, buoyed by the financial markets as well.

Till the early 90s and the post-liberalisation wave of industrial growth where the NCR (Gurgaon especially) became the hottest migration zone for such folks, aided undoubtedly by real estate advantages and valuable physical proximity to the avenue now known as Kartavya Path. Somewhere in the interim, Bangalore attracted sufficient momentum while it incubated the stellar IT revolution, possibly the only case of intellectual ethnicity patterns providing a compelling geographical advantage.

The simple point I wish to make is that work culture is rarely a function of ethnic DNA or efficiency, instead, it is invariably dictated by talent diversity, in terms of leadership and mid-management, which are both migratory in nature. What also helps unify productivity is the proliferation of pan-Indian organisations, from banks to insurance to mobile operators to retail ( both digital & physical) and now healthcare which are standardising key operating processes and service level variances will be few. Thus in most areas of public interaction, it is silly to suggest that Calcutta has a poor work culture, for the employee-level KRA’s of structured companies do not vary statewise, and this is increasingly true for public utilities as well.

Therefore, the only critical area of improvement for Calcutta is to once again become attractive as the headquarters of MNCs as well as Indian corporates, seeking a stable and dynamic base for running a business. This will sort the diversity issue in talent and thus became an accelerator for monetising the intellectual wealth of the populace, aided by global SOPs. A soft hunting ground may well be a B2C (Bangalore to Calcutta) movement, inviting companies (Non IT mostly) to move Eastwards to take advantage of far more amenable living and traffic conditions.

Thus, quite like ITC senior management, the business leaders of the city will once again be outsiders and insiders with global acumen, and not the current hubris pulling the city down. Of course, a far more concerted momentum is necessary, led by the progressive industry leaders who have chosen to make this their home, spelling out the considerable advantages. 

In sum, it must be said that the work culture of Calcutta is as good as any urban centre in India and what is direly needed is the infusion of diverse leadership, ideally through an influx of corporate HQs. Talent attraction will be easily solved when folks figure out the quality of life here as well as a top-class entertainment cum private education infrastructure, no less than the NCR. This will immediately teach a lesson to the superannuated leaders of today ( public and private), far too busy trying to protect their slipping turf as opposed to growing the enormous local potential.

Perhaps the UNESCO Cultural tag on the Durga Pujas will be an unlikely catalyst for the restoration of this much-needed business status quo, especially for knowledge-driven industries. The spotlight on the festivities may well diversify to a demonstration of the city’s innumerable qualities, leading to some much-needed East India companies.