Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy thinks we should work 70 hours a week to help grow the economy of our country. L&T Chairman S.N. Subrahmanyan thinks we should not work only 70 hours – we should work 90 hours a week and even on Sundays. His excuse – for how long can a person sit and stare at their wife?
S.N. Subrahmanyan further claimed that he too works 90 hours a week and on Sundays. But that is because he gets paid enough, has privileges and help enough to do so. However, for an associate and manager-level employee, this isn’t possible. They have more responsibilities than just work – taking care of the household, cooking, cleaning, taking care of parents, parenting, etc. For a person with no hobbies and responsibilities, maybe working 90 hours a week is possible but not for the rest of us.
Edelweiss Mutual Fund CEO Radhika Gupta gave her two cents on the entire debate. She revealed that while working on her first project at her first job, she worked 100 hours a week. She even worked on Sundays, but that is because Mondays were her off days. And she was miserable, cried in bathrooms and was hospitalized twice.
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“I worked 100 hours a week for four consecutive months on my 1st project during my 1st job.18 hours a day, with one day off (and not Sunday—I got Monday off because I had to be at a client site on Sunday). What was it like? 90% of the time, I was miserable. I went to office bathrooms and cried, ate chocolate cake from room service at 2 a.m., and was hospitalized twice. Most importantly, I may have been at work for 100 hours, but I was not productive in those. The same story is true for many of my graduating classmates who joined similar roles in banking, consulting, etc.”
The Edelweiss MF CEO further claimed that such a work culture would only lead to a world of anxiety, breakdowns, early heart attacks, unhappy marriages and absentee parenting.
“Family and mental health cannot be absent from this. Otherwise, we will build a world of anxiety and breakdowns, early heart attacks, unhappy marriages, and absentee parenting. I could work those hours I did as a young, single girl because I had no responsibilities. Today, between my career, managing my home, caring for parents, and giving time to my husband and son, I am consumed. And this is despite privilege: a hands-on husband, support staff, parents who chip in, and lots of resources. I commute 1.5 hours a day, but many commute 3–4 hours in our cities. They have homes to run, chores to do, dabbas to pack, kids to drop to school and more.”
“As organizations, we have to think about the culture we create. Of course, founders/CEOs work harder—they have economic incentives to do so,” she stressed.
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She explained that while we have the responsibility as a citizen to work towards the development of India, we also must work towards making it a happy nation.
“All of us have to contribute to making India a developed nation. But as we do so, we should also strive to be a happy nation—enjoying the fruits of that development: the joy of building, of giving our families better lives, and of experiencing what the previous generation may not have had. Happiness, inclusive growth, and development go hand in hand,” she wrote.
Have a look at her full post here:
Choices, Hard Work and Happiness
I debated whether to write this post, because the risk of being misquoted on this issue in this clickbait world is high. But I am trying to share what is a nuanced point of view on the issue of work-life balance.
1. Hard work is important and…
— Radhika Gupta (@iRadhikaGupta) January 11, 2025
Do you agree with what she has to say?