Narayana Murthy's Call for 70-Hour Work Week Sparks Uproar on Work-Life Balance Amongst Youth

It marks very important when many countries in west, especially Europeans, are going for 4 days work a week in order to focus more on productivity than hours given on work.

Infosys founder Naryana Murthy sparks a heated debate on his 70hrs/week statement. Courtesy - 3one4 Capital

New Delhi: The discussion about Infosys founder Narayana Murthy suggesting that young people in India should work 70 hours a week has sparked a heated debate. Many top executives and founders have shared their views on this. Some support the idea, saying it could boost India's economic growth, while others argue that young individuals deserve a work-life balance.

In an interview with former board member and CFO of Infosys Mohandas Pai, Murthy said that “Our youth aren’t taking no-so-desirable habit from the west and then not helping the country. India’s work productivity one of the lowest in the world…my request is that our youngsters must say, “I want to work 70 hours a week.”

It marks very important when many countries in west are going for 4 days work a week in order to focus more on productivity than hours given on work.  

Here are some opinions from prominent Indian leaders:

Bhavish Aggarwal, the founder of Ola, supports Murthy's statement, suggesting that this is not the time to work less but to focus on productivity.

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! https://t.co/KsXQbjAhSM

— Bhavish Aggarwal (@bhash) October 26, 2023

Ashneer Grover has also shared his perspective on the matter.

I think junta got offended here because work is still being measured in ‘hours’ than ‘outcome’. The other thing is people feeling as if youngster’s laziness is only thing keeping India from becoming developed.

Funny - getting offended unites us more than cricket, religion,… https://t.co/hAai4UOgwU

— Ashneer Grover (@Ashneer_Grover) October 27, 2023

However, there are differing opinions from netizens:

Some argue that it's challenging to work for 70 hours a week when the pay is low.

"How can people work for 70 hrs when paid peanuts!" is how free markets work

"How can founders make 100s of crores when paying pennies!" is how reward for risk works

Don't criticize the player, understand the game

If you don't like capitalism, don't play it

— Aviral Bhatnagar (@aviralbhat) October 28, 2023

Neha Nagar, a financial influencer, believes that such a work schedule may not be sustainable.

Dr. Rahul Baxi used a meme template to highlight the potential health effects of working 70 hours a week.

This 70 hrs per week debate reminded me of this scene from ZNMD pic.twitter.com/cwO9rGXdg1

— Dr. Rahul Baxi (@baxirahul) October 27, 2023

One user mentioned that they already work 50-60 hours a week and questioned what's wrong with young Indians working 70 hours.

I do work 50-60 hrs/ week or sometime more at this age. Germans & Japanese did worked more than 70 hrs after WW-II to become a 'Developed Nation'.

Whats wrong in Indian youths working 70 hrs/ week? We are a developing a nation.
(Watched NM's video)

— Kiran Rajput (@_KiranRajput) October 28, 2023

Another user raised concerns about stagnant salaries, which have remained around 3-3.5 lakh per annum for the last 20 years.

The debate reflects the contrasting views on work hours and work-life balance in India.