Jobaaj Stories
Recently, In a conversation with Mohandas Pai on his Podcast, Narayana Murthy’s statement on working hours triggered the Indian Youth.
He highlighted that India’s Productivity at Work is one of the lowest in the entire world. Hence, He added, “I request that our youngsters work 70 hours a week.”
This sparked a debate and immediate attention on Social Media, with entrepreneurs presenting their views on the Idea of India’s Biggest Technical Companies, Infosys.
Supporting Murthy’s Views, OLA Cab co-founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal said that It’s not the moment to work less and entertain oneself. But, It’s the moment to go all in and build in one generation, what other countries would’ve built throughout many generations.
Surprisingly, Many Entrepreneurs like Kunal Shah(Cred) have also entertained the Idea of working 12 hours per day. While there is still a separate crowd of admirers of work-life balance.
Chairman of RPG Entreprises, Harsh Goenka commented against this 70-hour work theory of Narayana Murthy and tweeted his views on Social Media Platform X.
Previously as well in an interview with ET Now in 2020, Murthy said, “We should take a pledge that we will work 10 hours a day, six days a week - as against 40 hours a week - for the next 2-3 years so that we can fast-track and grow the economy much faster."
In the midst of all of this, India Today released a piece and included data from the International Labour Organization (ILO) indicating that, as of 2023, Indians will rank among the toughest workers in the world, putting in an average of 47.7 hours per week per employed person.
Furthermore, India has the longest average workweek among the world's ten major economies when compared to this figure.
India is ranked eighth in the world for work ethic; only a few countries—Qatar, Congo, Lesotho, Bhutan, Gambia, and the United Arab Emirates—have a stronger work ethic than the Indians. The International Labour Organization is interested in these facts and is allegedly thinking about producing a study on working hours unique to India.
While this argument continues, it's important to note that an examination of ILO statistics in conjunction with comparable GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) per capita estimates shows an interesting trend.
Consider India, which has the lowest GDP per capita yet the most weekly working hours among the top 10 global countries. On the other hand, France has one of the highest per capita GDP statistics at $55,493, despite having the lowest working week among these economies at 30.1 hours.
Today, As we are far from the Global Pandemic, A trend of self-care has emerged among the younger generation. K Pandiarajan, Executive Chairman and HR specialist at Ma Foi Strategic Consultants, has spoken on the issue since these figures were released and has argued in favor of a fair strategy.
He recommended against India just importing the 35-hour workweek from the West. Rather, he advocates for striking a golden medium of 48 hours a week while making sure that workers' well-being and physical condition are taken into consideration.
In his comments, K Pandiarajan, Executive Chairman of Ma Foi Strategic Consultants and an HR specialist, argued in favor of a fair strategy. He recommended against India just importing the 35-hour workweek from the West. Rather, he advocates for striking a healthy balance between work and personal time by recommending 48 hours a week.
Sudha Murthy, wife of Narayana Murthy backed him stating, “He has worked 80 to 90 hours a week, so, he doesn’t know what less than that is. He believes in real hard work and he lived like that. Hence, he has told what he felt."
Also read: Navigating the Financial Landscape: The Versatile Journey of Anil Ghelani, CA and CFA Charterholder
