'It is impractical’, say Delhiites after more leaders come in support of Narayana Murthy’s 70-hour work week take

Young India believes that they need to have work-life balance and not spend their entire time on work. This stands contrary to what Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy recently stated. According to him, people in India should have 70-hour work week to become a developed nation. Sun Microsystems co-founder, Vinod Khosla, also backed Murthy’s statement.

In a post on X, he wrote that people who feel “attacked” by Murthy’s statement should “toughen up”. He said, “For people who "felt attacked" by this, they need mental health therapy. They should learn to "toughen up" and not feel attacked. OK to not work 70hrs/wk and live with the consequences of the choices you make. He is speaking to "career ambitious" young people, but there are other ways to live with different choices.”

Unfortunately too many founders don’t understand this process. We have had a lot of debates where we disagree and then I encourage you to do do what you decide is right. https://t.co/0thjRyZwTh

— Vinod Khosla (@vkhosla) December 2, 2023

Talking to a few office goers, one told Tech Today that a 70-hour work week is bound to hamper your personal life and health, which is not okay. He said, “What Narayana Murthy has stated is completely impractical if we want to maintain a healthy lifestyle.” Another stated that our lives should not revolve around work, it is important to give yourself enough time so that you can build your personality, work on your strengths and weaknesses. Another corporate employee stated that 70-hour work week is only possible in hypothetical situation because we need to take out time for ourselves and our families.

One office goer stated that he believes that 70-hour work week is possible in the beginning of the career. He stated, “70 hours for someone who is not married and is young makes sense.” However, he revealed that it should not be imposed as it should be voluntary. Several people also told us that they believe that 8–9 hours a day with two-day week off is good enough for almost all industries.

The average work hours in India are 47.7 hours per week, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO). This is significantly higher than the US average of 36.4 hours per week.

In our survey, it was also revealed that many of them preferred hybrid work model, something that started during the pandemic. They stated that this work arrangement allows them to be more productive as they can save time on commute, give time to their families and even have team building activities so that the work doesn’t suffer.

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