Infosys Co-founder Narayana Murthy Responds To Debate On His 70 Hours Work Concept
Infosys Co-founder and former CEO, Narayana Murthy in a conversation with CNBC-TV18 talked about his previous statement about the work hours of youth in the country to increase the total productivity. Earlier in October 2023, he remarked that the youth should work 70 hours a week to enhance the nation’s labour productivity. However, the former CEO now explained that:
“I rationalized it this way. If anybody has performed much better than me in their own field, not necessarily in my field, I would respect, I would call them, and I would say, where do you think I was wrong in saying this? But I didn”t find it. A lot of my Western friends, a lot of NRIs, and a lot of good people in India called me, and without exception, they were all very happy. They all said whether it is 70 or 60, that”s not the issue.,” Narayana Murthy said.
However, urging the youth again to work hard, Murthy stressed that while the farmers and factory workers are working hard in the country, those who got an education at a “huge discount” with scholarships and other government subsidies should owe it to the less fortunate. “The issue is that we have to work hard in this country because the poor farmer works very hard. You know, the poor factory worker works very hard. So, therefore, those of us who received education at a huge discount, thanks to the subsidy from the government for all this education. In my case, I got a scholarship, right from the university. So we owe it to the less fortunate citizens of India to work extremely hard,” Murthy said.
The earlier remark urging youth to work 70 hours per week had met with a mixed response, with the majority opposing the concept promoted by former Infosys chief. RPG Enterprises Chairman Harsh Goenka had voiced his opinion saying: “It’s no longer about working 50 or 70 hours, but about your own ambition, your purpose, and your productivity.”
Many others had voiced that if someone works 70 hours per week, they might not be able to spend enough time with family, turning life into a mere work routine with no time for anything else.
