Satya Nadella, Jeff Bezos and more tech leaders are not fans of ‘work-life balance’; here's what they prefer instead

Top leaders in the technology industry including former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella have openly criticised the concept of ‘work-life balance’.  Back in 2018, Bezos had stated that he believed that one should aim for “work-life harmony”, where being happy at home positively affects how well you do at work, stated Business Insider. He described the concept of ‘work-life balance’ as “debilitating” because it implies that there is a strict trade-off. He added that if he is happy at home, he has “tremendous energy” when he goes to work. If he is happy at work, he comes home with the same energy. He said, “It is a circle. It’s not a balance”

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella also sided with Bezos and stated, “I used to always think that you need to find that balance between what’s considered relaxing versus what is working.” He revealed that he was trying to harmonise what he deeply cares about, which includes deep interests and work.

Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy recently stated that young India should have a 70-hour work week, which is bound to throw the concept of ‘work-life balance’ for a toss. Murthy argued that India's low productivity was a major obstacle to the country's economic growth. He said that young Indians needed to be willing to work long hours if they wanted to succeed in the growing global economy.

However, some leaders like Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates have suggested that a 3-day work week will be possible with artificial intelligence at our disposal. According to him, the purpose of life is not just jobs. He stated, “We don't want to be so fixated on what we do for a living that we forget about all the other things that are important.”

For those who are unaware, the average number of working hours in India is 47.7 hours per week, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO) which is significantly higher than in the US where the average is 37.5 hours per week.

Since the pandemic has shifted the dimensions of work culture by introducing work-from-home or hybrid models, many have become comfortable with that. According to a 2022 study by PwC, 72% of Gen Z workers in India prefer a hybrid work model, which allows them to maintain a work-life balance.

Several employees who work in the corporate sector recently told Tech Today that they prefer the hybrid model as it allows them to have team bonding sessions, and spend time with family while being extra productive at work.

However, Tesla CEO Elon Musk thinks otherwise. He recently criticised the remote work model and called it “morally wrong”.  He added that employees who work from home are “detached from reality” and their productivity is also affected because of that.

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