Narayana Murthy, a doyen in the IT industry who was at one time an entrepreneur himself, reasoned that India has one of the lowest productivity levels 
Special 
Narayana Murthy, a doyen in the IT industry who was at one time an entrepreneur himself, reasoned that India has one of the lowest productivity levels Indians are already among the hardest workers in the world, averaging 47.7 hours per week per employed person, according to International Labour Organisation data updated in 2023. In fact, if compared with the 10 biggest economies, Indians have the longest average work week.
India ranks seventh in the global ranking with only Qatar, Congo, Lesotho, Bhutan, Gambia, and the United Arab Emirates averaging more. So much so, that ILO is reportedly planning a special India-specific report on working hours.
Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy recently stirred up a hornet’s nest when he advocated 70 hours work weeks for youngsters so that India can compete with economies that progressed in the last two to three decades.
“India's work productivity is one of the lowest in the world," Murthy said while speaking to former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai for a podcast, The Record. "So therefore, my request is that our youngsters must say, ‘This is my country. I’d like to work 70 hours a week," Murthy said, adding that this is exactly what the Germans and Japanese did after the Second World War. "They made sure that every German worked extra hours for a certain number of years."
His comments drew critical reactions from netizens, although several industry leaders such as JSW Group CMD Sajjan Jindal, Ola Cabs Co-Founder Bhavish Aggarwal of Ola, and Pai supported his view.
Murthy isn’t the first one to endorse long working hours. Last year, Bombay Shaving Company CEO Shantanu Deshpande supported 18-hour workdays in the early stage of one’s career. His LinkedIn post earned him serious backlash, eventually forcing him to apologise.
Murthy, a doyen in the IT industry who was at one time an entrepreneur himself, reasoned that India has one of the lowest productivity levels. Looking at ILO’s data and the corresponding GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) per capita, there seems to be an inverse correlation between wealth and weekly working hours. Countries with higher Per Capita GDP have shorter working hours.
For instance, among the top 10 biggest economies, India has the highest weekly working hours and the lowest per capita GDP. On the contrary, France which has the shortest working week among the top 10 biggest economies at 30.1 hours has among the highest per capita GDP at $55,493.
“We have to get into longer and more productive work hours. They are both independent dimensions. Surely, we should not drift down the western path of 35 hours a week, but a golden middle of 48 hours a week is what I would advocate,” says Executive Chairman and HR expert K Pandiarajan of Ma Foi Strategic Consultants, which includes CIEL HR Services.
Of course, companies should provide for the health and fitness aspects of employees, he adds. He points out that you cannot promote intrapreneurship with all these restrictions about working hours. “So, the rewards and benefits have to be aligned accordingly.”
Copyright©2025 Living Media India Limited. For reprint rights: Syndications Today
