Narayan Murthy defends 70-hr-a-week work policy, says employees should emulate ‘less fortunate who work extremely hard’
Narayan Murthy refuses to back down from his contentious views regarding work-life balance.
The Infosys co-founder, who created an uproar last year for suggesting that the millennial and Gen Z employees should work for at least 70 hours a week so that the Indian economy could progress, doubled down on his views in a recent interview with CNBC-TV18.
Referring to his controversial statement, the billionaire pointed out that if farmers and factory workers could dedicate themselves to work, so can employees hailing from the middle class. He also claimed that hard work is ingrained in the Indian culture, since many people take up jobs that are physically demanding.
“Those of us who received education at a huge discount, thanks to the subsidy from the government for all these education, owe it to the less fortunate citizens of India to work extremely hard," he told the publication.
Murthy also claimed that despite the backlash, he has received a lot of positive feedback from NRIs and high networth Indians. He also added that he would not have offered such an advice if he did not practise it personally. He revealed that he had worked for 85 to 90 hours a week at the start of his career.
“I used to go (to work) six and a half days. Even in the electronics area, I used to work six and a half days. And every day I would leave home at 6 a.m.
in the morning. I would be in the office at 6.20. And I would leave by about 8.15, 8.30 pm," he stated.
In 2023, the business tycoon courted controversy after he advised youngsters to prioritise work and grind for at least 70 hours a week in a podcast hosted by former Infosys CEO Mohandas Pai.
