Uber CEO wants hard work and everyone to respond to emails on the weekend

Employees who hope to find a work-life balance and live their lives on autopilot, living off office attendance and four-day weeks, aren’t likely to last long at the $157 billion ride-hailing giant Uber. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi expects an unparalleled work ethic from his team — including on weekends. Otherwise, they will be asked to leave.

“We’re going to be really picky,” Khosrowshahi recently said on the Diary of a CEO podcast. “If you’re not performing, we’ll let you know. And if you don’t fix it, we’ll remove you from the company.”

Also read: Uber ordered to compensate passenger in case of rape committed by driver

When Khosrowshahi took the top job at Uber in 2017, he quickly implemented a new game-changing strategy. At the time, the company was losing US$2.5 billion to US$3 billion per year and was complacent in part of its own success, explained the technology executive.

To get the business back on track, he carried out a rigorous analysis of his team and revamped the company’s work culture — including outside business hours.

“Part of working hard is sending emails to the team on a Saturday,” he continued. “And if I don’t hear back by Saturday, I’ll email you on Sunday with a question mark. What’s going on?”

So far, his leadership philosophy has worked: Khosrowshahi highlighted that last year, Uber generated $9.8 billion in free cash flow. And, although he admits that working at the ride-hailing company is not easy, he says that employees have real autonomy, learn a lot and can make a concrete difference in the world.

“Although you will work hard, you will have a lot of fun,” said the CEO. “But don’t come here if you just want to live your life on autopilot.”

Fortune reached out to Uber for comment but did not hear back.

“Life is made of choices and renunciations”, says CEO

Uber’s CEO’s demanding work culture is not just necessary to transform the company — he reveals that it is a core competency for success.

“For me, the most important skill in life is the ability to work hard,” Khosrowshahi said on the podcast.

The executive, who has been CEO twice, explained that professionals get too caught up in their own career path, thinking excessively about whether they should be computer programmers or doctors, or study liberal arts.

But the real key to achieving results isn’t choosing the perfect profession, says Khosrowshahi: just work hard, and success will come.

He passes this same lesson on to his children and advises others to do the same; Even though he is the chief executive, he never slows down.

“I won’t let anyone work harder than me,” said the Uber CEO. “They may be smarter, more talented, etc., but I’m not going to let anyone work harder than me. And I think that’s a huge advantage that you can have that, over time, accumulates.”

Working hard doesn’t mean endless effort

Even Khosrowshahi sets limits on his personal time: whenever he’s in town, he sets aside two hours for dinner with his family.

But soon after the meal is over, he goes back to checking his emails at 9:30 pm and goes through his inbox again when he wakes up at 5:30 am.

It’s possible to find some balance while working hard, he insists—but something will always have to give.

“We believe in flexibility. People confuse lack of flexibility with working hard: you can work hard and at the same time have flexibility,” explains Khosrowshahi. “Of course there are concessions. Life is made of choices and renunciations.”