Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy has stirred a debate on the need for work-life balance in India with his remark, which suggested that the youth of India should be prepared to work 70 hours a week to elevate the nation’s work culture and compete effectively on the global stage.

“My request is that our youngsters must say, this is my country. I’d like to work 70 hours a week,” Murthy, who is 77 now, had said in a candid conversation with former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai on a podcast.

Many founders took to social media platforms to express their views on the statement with both sides finding takers. Some argued that it is inhuman to expect people to work for such long hours, while others took it positively.

Among those who reacted positively included Sajjan Jindal, chairman of JSW Group, Bhavish Aggarwal, founder of Ola and Ola Electric, and Ashneer Grover, former co-founder and managing director of BharatPe.

“I wholeheartedly endorse Mr. Narayan Murthy’s statement. It’s not about burnout, it’s about dedication. We have to make India an economic superpower that we can all be proud of in India 2047,” said Jindal in response to Murthy’s comments.

“Our circumstances are unique and the challenges we face are distinct from the developed nations. They are working 4 or 5 days a week because their earlier generations clocked longer, and more productive hours,” he added.

Ola‘s Bhavish Aggarwal emphasized the need go all in and not lose time on entertainment. “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 said in a post on X.

“Our grandparents’ generation fought for independence. Our parents’ generation fought for roti kapda makaan. Like it or not, our generation is destined to build India into the largest economy. It will take every effort. No better satisfaction than to contribute in this journey!”, he added.

“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, caste or language,” said Ashneer Grover on X (formerly Twitter).

According World Population Review, Luxembourg ranks highest in terms of productivity levels at work in 2023, followed by Singapore, Ireland, and Qatar, respectively. India ranks 63rd on the list, which is calculated by measuring GDP contribution per hour worked.

A study by Arcadis, an Amsterdam-based consultancy, found that India ranks low in terms of work-life balance as well. In particular, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, and New Delhi, five of India’s biggest cities, ranked extremely low, with Mumbai coming in at 86 and New Delhi scoring 87 out of 100 cities ranked. On average, Indians worked 2,195 hours annually, in stark comparison to Germany, where workers clock in 1,473 hours annually.

Meanwhile, nay-sayers including Ronnie Screwvala, chairperson and co-founder, upGrad.com, suggested that long work hours do not directly amount to quality work.

“Boosting productivity isn’t just about working longer hours. It’s about getting better at what you do – upskilling, having a positive work environment and fair pay for the work done. Quality of work done > clocking in more hours,” said Ronnie Screwvala on X.

“I don’t agree that there is a direct correlation between the number of hours you work and the productivity,” said Ritupurna Chakraborty, co-founder, Teamlease.

“Only 4-5% of the Indian workforce is trained and skilled specifically for the jobs that they undertake. And this essentially has a direct co-relation to low productivity levels in the country,” she said.

Meanwhile, a significant portion of working hours is lost in commuting to work. Much of what’s holding India back in achieving high productivity levels is beyond the control of an individual and actually comes down to infrastructural issues, she added.

Opponents also pointed out that extended working hours could have a profound negative impact on the health and well-being of youngsters. A sentiment that is echoed by the World Health Organisation.

According to a report published by WHO in 2021, working 55 or more hours per week is associated with an estimated 35% higher risk of a stroke and a 17% higher risk of dying from ischemic heart disease, compared to working 35-40 hours a week.

Extended working hours led to 745,000 deaths from stroke and ischemic heart disease in 2016, it added.

Dr. Mukherjee Madivada, senior interventional cardiologist, managing director, Pulse Heart Center, interestingly argued that the motivation behind working long hours could ultimately decide the effects it could have on your body. “If someone forces you to work that hard, the results may be catastrophic, but if the force is from within, the health may not suffer that much,” he said, while acknowledging that the comment could not be blanket-applied in all cases.

Infosys is amongst a growing number of major tech companies that have opted out of campus hiring this year which according to engineering colleges have negatively impacted the outlook for final year students.

During the inaugural episode of 3one4 Capital’s podcast ‘The Record’, Murthy pinpointed India’s underwhelming work productivity, ranking among the lowest in the world. To bridge the gap with countries such as China, he drew parallels to Japan and Germany, which, post-World War II, encouraged their recoveries by fixing a culture of extended working hours and dedication.

“We need to be disciplined and improve our work productivity. I think unless we do that, what can (the) poor government do? And every government is as good as the culture of the people. And our culture has to change to that of highly determined, extremely disciplined and extremely hard-working people. And that transformation has to come to youngsters because youngsters form a significant majority of our population at this point of time, and they are the ones who can build our country,” he added.

In the conversation he also touched upon his early staunchness for socialism and an eventual fallout in favour of creation of jobs through capitalism, a transition that was spurred by his time spent in France, and other European and Western European countries.

It is important to note that 70 hours a week technically translates to an 8 AM- 10 PM job in a five-day working week. That at a time when many western countries are now talking about reducing work hours, and the working days per week, to as low as 4-hour per day in a 4-day working week.

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