Infosys co-founder N. R. Narayana Murthy triggered a massive debate on social media by claiming that young people in India should work 70 hours a week to boost the country's economy. The 70 hours a week, which Murthy first endorsed in October 2023 and has reiterated on several occasions since, polarised opinions.

CREDIT: iStock

Most people, especially in the salaried class, denounced the idea of working 70 hours a week and called it exploitation, while Murthy got support from some entrepreneurs who also said that they did not believe in work-life balance and that weekends are a Western concept.

As the debate continues, one of India's richest men, Gautam Adani, has spoken on what he feels about the 70-hour work week and work-life balance.

"Your work-life balance should not be imposed on me, and my work-life balance shouldn't be imposed on you. Say, someone spends four hours with family and finds joy in it, or someone else spends eight hours and enjoys it, that's their balance. Notwithstanding that, if you spend eight hours, your wife will run away," Adani said in a recent interview with IANS.

CREDIT: AP

The Chairman of Adani Group further said that work-life balance can be achieved when one does things they like.

"Your work-life is balanced when you do things which you like doing... For us either it is family or work, we don't have a world out of this... Our children also notice that only and take note of it... No one has come here permanently. When one understands this, life becomes simple," he said.

CREDIT: REUTERS

Narayana Murthy, who co-founded one of India's most successful IT companies, had cited his own example of working 80-90 hours, six days a week in the early days of Infosys to justify his endorsement for a 70-hour work week.

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