Moscow: The whole world is watching the war between Russia and Ukraine. This war has given rise to many concerns, but there is a new concern in Russia at this time. This concern is about the population decline. The population in Russia is continuously declining and the situation has become even worse due to the war with Ukraine. Due to this young Russians are migrating from the country. Russia's Health Minister Dr. Yevgeny Shestopalov advised officegoers to use lunch and coffee time to build intimate relationships. His statement came after Russia's fertility rate reached 1.5 children per woman. But the direction in which Russia is moving as a cure for the declining population, is it not making the mistake of inviting new problems…?

Health Minister Dr. Shestopalov said on the concern of declining population, 'Busy office life and work pattern should not be made an excuse. You can engage in reproduction during breaks because life is passing very fast.' When he was asked how those who work 12 to 14 hours a day will get time to reproduce, he replied, 'During breaks.' Russian President Vladimir Putin has already said that preserving the Russian people is our top national priority. But will this solution to maintain and increase the declining population not give rise to other problems?

What will happen to the work culture…?
Policies like Prevention of Sexual Harassment (PoSH) have been introduced to prevent incidents of physical harassment in the workplace. But such 'government remedies' can create new diseases of exploitation and coercion in offices. Mumbai's famous psychiatrist and relationship expert, Dr. Sagar Mundhra says , 'Although it is important to understand the context in which his statement has come. But still, such a statement cannot help you. On one hand, women have the right not to tolerate any abuse against them, while on the other hand, if the government itself is promoting physical relations in the office, then how will there be harmony between the two? Will this not create conflict?

In many offices, a No Relation policy is adopted so that no one gets any benefit based on the relationship. But if a boss and a female employee are forming a relationship to 'save the population', then this can cause great harm to the office culture. Also, these relationships don't need to be formed between employees of equal positions. In such a situation, what will be the structure of the hierarchy? If 15 such couples are formed in the office, will decisions be taken keeping emotions aside? Also, this creates an imbalance and dissatisfaction among employees who have partners outside the office or who are single. This option will not come alone but will bring many problems with it.

'Sex break' is not a solution for people working for 15 hours.
Dr. Sagar Mundada says, 'If population decline is a problem and you are looking for an alternative to it from people working for 15 hours, then this method itself is not right. Rather, as a solution to this, you should reduce the working hours of people. The 4-day working culture is gaining momentum in Europe. In such a situation, something similar can be done in Russia too so that people get time to raise and focus on their families. If days are not possible, then some effort can be made by reducing the work hours.