'A bit impractical': Serum's Adar Poonawalla on longer work week pitch by L&T chief, Narayana Murthy

Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla on Monday weighed in on the ongoing debate surrounding longer workweeks, sparked by recent comments from L&T Chairperson SN Subrahmanyan. Poonawalla said that while there was no substitute for hard work, working beyond 8-9 hours can't be done every day. 

"These chaps feel that hard work is very important, there is no debate and substitute for hard work. But of course, you need to have a social life and balance your life so that you can come back refreshed to work and be productive,” Poonawalla said in an exclusive conversation with Rahul Kanwal, Executive Director of Business Today. 

The Serum CEO stressed that building relationships and meeting people — whether to raise funds or engage with government officials — is as vital as office hours. His remarks come weeks after Subrahmanyan suggested that employees should work 90 hours a week. Similarly, Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy, in October 2023, suggested that young professionals should work 70 hours weekly to improve productivity.

However, Poonawalla underscored the limits of human endurance. "Human beings can’t be productive beyond 8-9 hours. Sometimes, you have to put in those hours, and it is fine, but you can’t do that every day,” he said, adding, “From Monday to Sunday, you can’t just be in the office working. That is a bit impractical.”

Poonawalla said it all depends on the journey and stage that one is at. "If you are an entrepreneur building a business, you should work hard and do whatever it takes. After that, it is about quality of work, working smart, and working strategically,” he said, adding that one can change the world in a matter of a few hours with a good idea or breakthrough of technology. "I am not saying there is a substitute for hard work...sometimes, you have to put in those hours, it is fine. But you can't do that every day." 

The comments from Subrahmanyan and Murthy have drawn mixed reactions from industry leaders. Anand Mahindra, Chairperson of Mahindra Group, and Naushad Forbes of Forbes Marshall, among others, have dismissed the push for longer hours, focusing instead on productivity and efficiency. Forbes recently said that many of these comments are made probably without the greatest of thought. "I wouldn’t depend so strongly on what each person says."

Poonawalla also said Subrahmanyan and Murthy may not have meant literally working 365 days a year. "I don't think they meant literally working 365 days a year. They just meant you have to work hard."