Murthy's 70-hr-a-week Work Call to Youth Triggers Sharp Reactions from Founders

IANS 30 October 2023

Personal Finance

Infosys founder Narayana Murthy's advice to youngsters in India, urging them to work 70 hours a week, has sparked sharp reactions from founders and leaders who said that while extended working hours can boost productivity, a balanced approach is equally necessary.

During a podcast, Mr Murthy had said that if India wants to compete with developed economies that have made remarkable progress in recent decades, youngsters should work for 70 hours a week.

Reacting to Mr Murthy's comment, Abhishek Desai, founder of CricHeroes, told IANS that while extended working hours can boost productivity in certain contexts, "it's equally vital to focus on work-life balance, employee well-being, and harnessing technology to enhance efficiency."

"The success of countries like Japan and Germany is undoubtedly commendable, but we must also acknowledge that their work culture may not be entirely replicable in the Indian context," Desai added.

Former BharatPe Co-founder Ashneer Grover said that the public got offended at Murthy’s comment as the measure of work done still gets notified based on hours spent rather than the outcome.

"I think junta (public) got offended here because work is still being measured in ‘hours’ rather than ‘outcome’. The other thing is people feeling as if youngster’s laziness is the only thing keeping India from becoming developed," he posted on X on Friday.

Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal, however, agreed with Mr Murthy's view.

"Totally agree with Mr Murthy’s views. It’s not our moment to work less and entertain ourselves. Rather it’s our moment to go all in and build in 1 generation what other countries have built over many generations," he posted on X.

According to Shrijay Sheth, founder of Legalwiz.in, working long hours does not necessarily translate into better work, bigger outcomes and higher returns for the company. "Primarily, it is about enhanced productivity and achieving the organisational goals. Especially for workforces in the Indian context, longer working hours may result in lower efficiency and, thus, impede the realisation of business objectives," he added.

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Comments

User

Kamal Garg

1 year ago

" Too much (read 70 hours week) makes Johny dull and boring".
Ha ha.
Normally there must be a right balance between work and life which is open for serious debate everywhere around the world.
Around 40 to 45 hours work per week is ok for motivated and positive contribution to the work.

anilkk65

1 year ago

Employees still need to put in more hours than the official 40-45 hours per week and employers don't pay overtime, because work estimates are generally not correct and companies bid irrationally to get the contract. When it's 70 hours per week officially, employees would be expected to put in 90-100 hours per week.

marysevens

1 year ago

When he (NarayanaMurthy:NM) advocated the 70hr week, he wasn’t talking rot!

The ones opposing him are naive and lack perception and grasp of reality!

NM himself has put in >70h as the other NM who does it even now!

So, differing for its own sake isn’t a very smart choice here.

One can afford fishing weekends only after 70h toil.

70h is done by all top guys.

For us, it’s a must as we are still the third world’s most self-praising nation with soft currency & with a bad reputation of mass-copying, stub-burning and what not!

NM spoke out of his personal example.