On Friday, 15th November, Narayana Murthy, Infosys co-founder, reaffirmed his position that he does not believe in work-life balance, indicating unhappiness with the concept of working five days per week. “I don’t believe in work-life balance,” Narayana Murthy stated during the CNBC Global Leadership Summit adding that he would hold firm in his belief and take it to the grave.
When asked about his thoughts on work-life balance in India, Narayana Murthy cited KV Kamath, Independent Director and Non-Executive Chairman of Jio Financial Services, as saying that India is a poor and growing country with numerous obstacles that need to be addressed rather than worrying about work-life balance.
“Frankly, I was very disappointed when in 1986 we shifted from a six-day work week to a five-day work week. 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,” he said while talking to Shereen Bhan.
#CNBCTV18GlobalLeadershipSummit 🎥 | 💬 "I don't believe in work-life balance," says Narayana Murthy, co-founder of Infosys, as he defends his stance on the famous 70-hour work week at CNBC TV18's Global Leadership Summit. #WorkEthic #Leadership #NarayanaMurthy… pic.twitter.com/IHm6uobiLS
— Moneycontrol (@moneycontrolcom) November 15, 2024
“In India, there is no alternative to hard work. You have to work very hard even if you are smart. I am proud of having worked hard all my life. So I’m sorry I have not changed my view, I will take this opinion to the grave,” Murthy said at the event.
He went on to state that India’s progress is dependent on sacrifice and effort rather than comfort and pleasure, and that the country will struggle to compete globally if it does not work hard and long hours.
When asked about his own work ethic, Narayana Murthy stated that he used to work 14 hours per day and devote six and a half days per week to his professional tasks. Murthy took pleasure in his devotion to professional development, stating that he used to come at the office before 6:30 am and depart after 8:30 pm.
This comes almost a year after Murthy proposed that young people in India should work for at least 70 hours a week to increase productivity. His statement led to a major row at the time. He revealed that he worked more than 85 to 90 hours a week up till 1994 in an interview with The Economic Times.
The 77-year-old businessman said, “I used to be in the office at 6:20 AM and leave office at 8:30 PM, and worked six days a week. I know every nation that became prosperous did so through hard work.” Narayana Murthy added, “My parents taught me very early in life that the only way we could hope to escape poverty was to work very, very hard – of course, assuming that one gets the best productivity from each hour of work.”
In October last year, Narayana Murthy hit the news when he remarked in the “The Record” podcast of 3one4 Capital that young people needed to work seventy hours a week in order to boost the country’s overall productivity. Prominent figures from a variety of businesses responded differently to his comment. While some shared his opinions, others believed that producing the best outcomes required quality effort rather than quantity.
Last month, in a candid conversation with Zerodha’s Nikhil Kamath at the 26th edition of Bengaluru Tech Summit, Narayana Murthy voiced his disapproval of freebies and asserted that “nothing should be given for free.” He also opined that compassionate capitalism can help a ‘poor’ country like India to become developed.
Murthy highlighted, “When you provide those services, when you provide those subsidies, there must be something in return that they’re willing to do. For example, if you say I will give you free electricity, then it would have been a very nice thing for the government to have said, but we want to see the percentage attendance in primary schools and middle schools go up by 20 percent, then only we will give you that.”
