The former CEO and co-founder of the Indian software giant Infosys has prompted a backlash after calling on India’s youth to work 70 hours a week to increase productivity.
Narayana Murthy, the billionaire father-in-law of UK prime minister Rishi Sunak, said during a YouTube interview with a venture capital company that government is only as good as the culture of its people.
“Our culture has to change to that of highly determined, extremely disciplined and extremely hardworking people and that transformation has to come to youngsters.”
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He added: “My request is that our youngsters must say, ‘This is my country, I want to work 70 hours a week’. This is exactly what Germans and Japanese did after the Second World War.”
He urged India’s corporate leaders to tell their youngsters that now was the time to consolidate and accelerate progress. “We need to work very hard, we need to be disciplined and improve our work productivity,” he said.
People working in many sectors in India already work six days a week and Murthy’s comments echo recent debates in China around its “996” culture, where people are encouraged to work from 9am to 9pm, six days a week. This led to online “lying flat” protests over recent years, where China’s youth rejected the long-hours culture.
In 2020, India’s Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code was passed into law, limiting working days to eight hours.
Murthy co-founded Infosys in 1981 creating what is now a $20bn company employing 330,000 people globally. He also said: “Somehow our youth have the habit of taking not-so-desirable habits from the West and then not helping the country. India’s work productivity is one of the lowest in the world.”
Harsh Mariwala, founder of Indian FMCG company Marico, disagreed that a long-hours culture in India was the solution. Posting on X, he said: “Undeniably, hard work is the backbone of success, but it is not about the hours clocked in. It’s about the quality and passion one brings to those hours.
“For our youth to be truly engaged and motivated, we need to ensure they are placed in roles that not only challenge them but also foster growth and learning. When an individual sees a path where hard work translates to a promising future, they are naturally inclined to give their best.
“It’s pivotal for organisations to cultivate a culture rooted in transparency, trust, and meritocracy which is devoid of gossiping, backbiting and politicking. The ultimate objective should be to make work so invigorating and rewarding that the paradigm of work-life balance seamlessly integrates.”
But other corporate leaders agreed with Murthy. CP Gurnani, CEO of IT services and consultancy Tech Mahindra reacted to Murthy’s comments on X: “I believe when he talks of work, it’s not limited to the company, it extends to yourself and to your country.
“He hasn’t said work 70 hours for the company – work 40 hours for the company but work 30 hours for yourself. Invest the 10,000 hours that makes one a master in one’s subject. Burn the midnight oil and become an expert in your field.
“That is 70 hours of work which can differentiate you as a youngster and, in the process, your country.”
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