How Did CEOs, Youth React To Infosys Founder’s 70-Hour Work Week?

Infosys founder Narayana Murthy has sparked a big discussion by saying that young people in India should work 70 hours a week. He thinks this is the way for India to be more productive and competitive in the world. 

He gave examples of Japan and Germany, where people worked long hours to rebuild their countries after World War II. This idea got support from Bhavish Aggarwal, the CEO of Ola, but many people online are not happy with it.

Infosys founder Murthy had a similar point of view in 2020, suggesting that people should work 60 hours a week to help the economy recover after the pandemic. It’s worth noting that some other global business leaders have also pushed for longer working hours. 

For instance, Elon Musk expects his employees at Twitter to work over 100 hours a week, and Alibaba’s Jack Ma has supported a 996 schedule in China, which means working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week.

Many people argue that working such long hours isn’t a good idea because it hurts family life and overall well-being. Some also say that longer hours don’t necessarily mean more work gets done; what matters is how efficiently the time is used. 

Surveys have shown that CEOs in the U.S. work about 10 hours on weekdays, and in India, CEOs work close to 8-9 hours a day.

Now, here’s where public opinion weighs in. A lot of people say this idea of a 70-hour work week could harm work-life balance. They point out that you can be productive without having to work so many hours. 

One comment said that countries like Germany and Japan are actually trying to improve work-life balance by not allowing work-related emails after office hours. 

So, the talk about extended working hours has led to questions about the importance of balancing work and personal life.

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The debate over how many hours people should work to be productive and competitive is far from settled. Some business leaders believe in the ‘more hours, better output’ formula.

But many people think it’s crucial to find a middle ground that respects both professional commitments and personal well-being, to ensure work-life balance.