Amid the ongoing debate over work-life balance, Varun Vummadi, a US-based Indian-origin tech CEO, has come under criticism for claiming that even experienced engineers are unwilling to work hard and work six days a week. Vummadi, the co-founder of Giga ML, made the comments in an X post.
CREDIT: LINKEDIN
"I’ve noticed a pattern in hiring engineers for our Indian office. Even with a base salary of ₹1 crore, many are unwilling to work hard. A significant number of engineers with 3–8 years of experience are reluctant to work six days a week," Vummadi, an electrical engineer from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, said.
I’ve noticed a pattern in hiring engineers for our Indian office. Even with a base salary of ₹1 crore, many are unwilling to work hard. A significant number of engineers with 3–8 years of experience are reluctant to work six days a week.
— Varun Vummadi (@varunvummadi) January 30, 2025
Many disagree
Many on X disagreed with Vummadi and argued that asking for two days off a week is not something that is to be looked down upon.
"Weird way to phrase that a lot of 26-32-year people prefer having a 2-day weekend in their lives. Sounds pretty normal to me,” one person wrote.
CREDIT: IStock
"Why will anyone who is earning more than 25L in India, no matter the profession, want to work 6 days a week? Not worth it. Anyone who is earning 50L+ will also have a family mostly, and the incremental benefit of spending time with family is way higher than earning 10L extra gross," asked another.
Not good for mental or physical health: doctor"Be it any field, the days of 'pay high salary and make them work 24x7' are gone, in my opinion. 5-day work week and 8 hours per day are conducive to mental and physical health. And also productivity," Dr Deepak Krishnamoorthy, the HOD - Interventional Cardiology, Kauvery Hospital, Marathahalli, Bengaluru, pointed out.
Be it any field, the days of "pay high salary and make them work 24x7" are gone, in my opinion. 5 days work week and 8 hours per day are conducive to mental and physical health. And also productivity.
— Dr Deepak Krishnamurthy (@DrDeepakKrishn1) January 31, 2025
Another X user blamed it on Infosys co-founder N. R. Narayana Murthy.
"Narayana Murthy made it uncool to work hard by preaching to work hard. They don’t wanna validate him," the user wrote.
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