Infosys founder Narayana Murthy once again made headlines by stating that Indians must start working 14 hours daily from Monday to Saturday to help the country’s growth journey. Like earlier, Narayana Murthy’s comment did not go well with netizens and people were quick to react in unison across social media platforms that there’s no harm in working for 14 hours daily but will companies like Infosys and other Indian companies increase pay accordingly if employees work extra?
Many influencers mentioned that it’s outright worker’s exploitation to expect people to work for 14 hours daily from Monday to Saturday while keeping the salaries at the lowest possible brackets. Expecting people to work 70 hours or 80 hours a week while paying them for 40 hours isn’t justified, summed up most comments on social media.
Few people said that while it may be justified to expect startup founders to work more because it’s their own companies, it makes no sense to expect the employees to do the same.
At the CNBC Global Leadership Summit, Narayana Murthy said that he doesn’t believe in work-life balance. And for true progress of India as a country, people will need to dedicate 14 hours daily at least to their work.
Narayana Murthy went ahead and expressed his disappointment with India adopting a 5 days work week from 6 days work week in 1986. He stressed that the reduced work may affect the growth of India. “We need to work hard in this country. There is no substitute for hard work. Even if you are the most intelligent guy, you have to work hard,” he said.
Giving an example of his work routine, Narayana Murthy said that he worked over 14 hours daily until he retired. His work routine was simple- start work at 6.30AM and finish at 8.40PM for six and a half days a week.
Narayana Murthy praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the hard work he and his cabinet and bureaucrats put in for India. He mentioned, “When PM Modi is working 100 hours a week, the only way to show our appreciation for the things that are happening around us is by our work.” Narayana Murthy wants all Indians to put in the extra work hours and dedication for the growth of India.
He is said that he was proud of working 14 hours a day for his entire life and that he believes that personal sacrifices are required to achieve bigger goals like national development.
