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“I don’t believe in work-life balance,” Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy said at the CNBC-TV18 Global Leadership Summit.
Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy said that his stance on the “70-hour workweek” hadn’t changed.
Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy remains unapologetically resolute about his famous 70-hour workweek remark, stating that he doesn’t believe in the concept of work-life balance. He also expressed disappointment at India’s transition from a six-day to a five-day workweek in 1986.
“I don’t believe in work-life balance,” Murthy said at the CNBC-TV18 Global Leadership Summit.
Reflecting on the concept of work-life balance, Murthy recalled an anecdote involving KV Kamath, Chairman of the board of directors of Jio Financial Services. “About 25 years ago, KV Kamath at an event was asked about his opinion on work-life balance. He said that India is a poor country with a lot of challenges. We first have to get a life, then we can worry about work-life balance,” Murthy shared.
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He then stated that his stance on the “70-hour workweek” hadn’t changed and added, “Prime Minister Modi probably works 100 hours a week. When his cabinet ministers are working very hard, when his bureaucrats are all working very hard, the only way we can show our appreciation for all these wonderful things that are happening is by our work.”
The IIT Kharagpur alum further shared that he wasn’t pleased when India moved to a five-day workweek.
“In 1986, when we moved from a six-day week to a five-day week, I was not very happy with that. I think in this country, we have to work very hard because there’s no substitute for hard work. Even if you’re the most intelligent, you need to work hard,” the billionaire businessman said.
“I am sorry. I haven’t changed my view. I will take this with me to my grave. I am very proud of having worked very hard… I worked fourteen hours a day and 6.5 days a week till I retired,” he further revealed.
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In October of last year, Murthy stated that for India to compete with the fastest-growing countries like China and Japan, the youth must commit to working 70 hours a week.
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“India’s work productivity is one of the lowest in the world. Unless we improve our work productivity, unless we reduce corruption in the government at some level, because we have been reading I don’t know the truth of it, unless we reduce the delays in our bureaucracy in taking this decision, we will not be able to compete with those countries that have made tremendous progress.”
He further added, “This is my country. I would like to work 70 hours a week.”
