At the distinguished alumni lecture at IIM Ahmedabad, renowned cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle in July last year delivered a sharp critique of corporate India's work culture, sparking discussions about nurturing talent and fostering diversity. His months-old remarks have gained renewed relevance amid recent debates on long working hours, including the 90-hour work week pitch by L&T Chairman SN Subrahmanyan and Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy's advocacy for a 70-hour work week.
Bhogle's address was a clarion call for leaders to focus on nurturing talent rather than exhausting it. He drew a parallel between India's corporate workforce and cricket, emphasising the need to support high-potential individuals akin to fostering a player like Jasprit Bumrah.
"Everybody in India today is talking about developing a Jasprit bumrah. How many Jasprit bumrah are there in our workforce? And what is corporate India doing about the Jasprit Bumrahs in our workforce?" he asked. "Are we nurturing the Bumrahs, or are we bowling them into the dust?”
Bhogle urged corporate leaders to prioritise the well-being and development of their teams. He also highlighted the perils of excessive work pressure, cautioning against turning India into a "stress factory".
"Are we becoming a stress factory as a country and will we continue to produce bumrah or will we continue to rub the Bumrahs into the dust? When you become leaders understand that talent has to be nurtured. That if you nurture talent, talent will back you all the time. One of the biggest stories in corporate India is - people join companies and leave bosses."
Bhogle's speech also resonated with criticism of exploitative practices in law firms and other sectors. Recalling a conversation with his son, a litigation lawyer, he shared how many young professionals in demanding fields are driven out of their careers due to burnout, a trend he likened to the "ganna (sugarcane) circuit,” where employees are squeezed dry.
"My son is a litigation lawyer. And he says - almost all his batchmates have quit law firms because they've been put through what we call the ganna (sugarcane) circuit. You put ganna in circuit...it reaches a point when it has got nothing left to give back and that's when you put it in again. There are many many outstanding young Bumrahs in our corporate Workforce and many of them in this room - when you become leaders nurture talent and learn to develop the bumrahs and embrace diversity," he said to young management graduates.
The lecture took place months before Subrahmanyan's controversial suggestion of a 90-hour work week, which included the contentious remark, “How long can you stare at your wife?” Subrahmanyan’s statement drew widespread backlash for its insensitivity and disregard for work-life balance.
In October 2023, Narayana Murthy pitched for a longer workweek and suggested that youth should work for 70 hours a week to drive the nation's progress.
Some industry leaders have openly disagreed with the idea of extending work weeks. Anand Mahindra, chairman of Mahindra Group, emphasised the importance of focusing on quality over quantity, stating, “It’s not about 40 hours, it’s not about 70 hours, it’s not about 90 hours. What output are you doing? Even if it’s 10 hours, you can change the world in 10 hours.”
Economist Sanjeev Sanyal joined the criticism, calling the push for excessively long working hours “silliness” and highlighting its hidden consequences, including burnout and diminished productivity. He criticised such norms for their moral hazard and potential to erode productivity, noting that only senior managers with extensive support systems can realistically endure such demands.