How corporate bigwigs reacted to Narayana Murthy’s 70-hour work week remark | Trending

Infosys co-founder and former CEO Narayana Murthy sparked a discussion on work-life balance after he made a remark on work productivity of the country on a podcast. During his conversation with former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai, Murthy stressed that youth should work for at least 70 hours a week to boost the country’s work productivity. This, in his opinion, is needed for the country to remain competitive with nations like China and Japan. While many backed his remark, others simply disagreed. From Anupam Mittal to Bhavish Aggarwal, some agreed with Murthy’s views on work productivity. However, many disagreed, including Harsh Mariwala and Chetan Bhagat. Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy. (ANI) Take a look at who said what about Narayana Murthy’s remark:1- Harsh GoenkaRPG Enterprises Chairman Harsh Goenka took to X to share his opinion on the 70-hour work week. He shared that hybrid work culture is the ‘present and future’. He further added, “It’s no longer about working 50 or 70 hours, but about your own ambition, your purpose, and your productivity.” 2- Ashneer GroverAshneer Grover, former co-founder and managing director of BharatPe, also shared his views on X. He wrote, “I think the junta [public] got offended here because work is still being measured in ‘hours’ than ‘outcome’. The other thing is people feeling as if youngster’s laziness is the only thing keeping India from becoming developed. Funny – getting offended unites us more than cricket, religion, caste or language.” Ashneer Grover tweeted this on work productivity. (X/@Ashneer_Grover) 3- Anupam MittalAnupam Mittal, the founder of Shadi.com, reacted to Narayana Murthy’s comment and tweeted, “After all these years, still working 70 hour weeks.” He also shared a picture of fellow judges from the sets of Shark Tank India. 4- Namita ThaparEmcure Pharmaceuticals CEO Namita Thapar reacted to the ongoing debate. She tagged Anupam Mittal and wrote, “if we len to you & other experts about working 70 hour/ week (plus horrendous commute time) will we ever find time for family, creating precious memories & most importantly for mental health?” 5- CP GurnaniTech Mahindra’s CP Gurnani, too, shared his thoughts on working 70 hours a week. He wrote that one should work 40 hours for the company and invest the remaining 30 hours in themselves. 6- Bhavish AggarwalBhavish Aggarwal, co-founder of Ola Cabs, in a tweet, said that he agrees with Narayana Murthy. “It’s our moment to go all in and build in 1 generation what other countries have built over many generations!” reads a part of Aggarwal’s tweet. Bhavish Aggarwal wrote this on X.(X/@bhash) 7- Harsh MariwalaMarico chairman Harsh Mariwala disagreed with Narayana Murthy’s 70-hour work week remark. Though Mariwala agrees that ‘hard work is the backbone of success,’ he opines, “It is not about the hours clocked in. It’s about the quality and passion one brings to those hours.” 8- Radhika GuptaEdelweiss MF CEO Radhika Gupta also weighed in on Narayana Murthy’s remark. “Between offices and homes, many Indian women have been working many more than seventy hour weeks to build India (through our work) and the next generation of Indians (our children). For years and decades. With a smile, and without a demand for overtime. Funnily, no one has debated about us on Twitter,” wrote Radhika Gupta on X. 9- Sajjan JindalSajjan Jindal, managing director of JSW Steel, tweeted that he ‘wholeheartedly endorse’ Narayana Murthy’s statement. He further said that India presently doesn’t need a five-day week culture. He added that he works for around 10-12 hours a day. Not just corporate leaders but others too reacted to Murthy’s remarks. 10- Chetan BhagatAuthor Chetan Bhagat, in an Instagram post, shared thoughts on working. He wrote, “Work 35 hours a week. Doesn’t have to be 70.” He, however, added that those 35 hours should really be productive. 11- Suniel ShettyActor Suniel Shetty also shared his views on LinkedIn. He wrote, “The way I read his thoughts is simple – It’s about going beyond your comfort zone.” He added, “If I could change something about my 20’s, it’d be putting in more hours on learning more. This coming from someone who was working full time age 17, didn’t socialise much as I was manning the restaurants on most nights of the week including weekends & especially during festivals, and yet managed to maintain my fitness routines.” Infosys’ Mohandas Pai also gave his opinion. He shared the data on ‘how many hours each week do urban men (15-19) work each week?’ Pai captioned the data, “Interesting data! This is for all ages. NRN advice was for youngsters, people below 30! Prosperity needs hard work, data shows.” What did Narayana Murthy say?full name Murthy made these remarks while appearing on the inaugural episode of ‘The Record,’ a podcast 3one4 Capital. During the conversation with Mohandas Pai, Murthy said, “If we want to compete with the fastest growing countries like China and Japan, we need to boost up our work productivity. At the moment, India’s work productivity is very low. The government also must reduce the time it takes for decision-making and curb corruption in bureaucracy.” “Our youngsters need to work for at least 70 hours a week,” he added. “Exciting news! Hindustan Times is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!” Click here! ABOUT THE AUTHOR Arfa Javaid is a journal working with the Hindustan Times’ Delhi team. She covers trending topics, human interest stories, and viral content online. …view detail