Author and philanthropist Sudha Murty has extended support to husband and Infosys founder Narayana Murthy’s 70-hour work week idea and said even she works more than that at this age. Sudha Murty said the idea is if one enjoys the work, then it becomes like a holiday. “My definition is you should enjoy your work. You should be passionate about your work. The work is holiday then,” Sudha Murty said.
“My view has always been that those of us staying in India who have received so much from the country, from the taxpayers, have the enormous responsibility to work very very hard to bring a chance for the betterment of the lives of poorer sections of society. Therefore, I don’t regret saying that 70-hour work culture should be the norm,” Narayana Murthy said in an interview with India Today where both of them appeared.
Narayana Murthy triggered a debate on work-life balance after he said that youngsters should work for more than 70 hours per week. In a podcast with former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai said India’s work productivity is among the lowest in the world and the youngsters must put in extra hours.
Despite the debate that followed questioning the difference between hard work and smart work, Narayana Murthy maintained his stance and said during his entire 40-plus years of professional life, he worked 70 hours a week. “When we had a six-day week – till 1994 – I used to work at least 85 to 90 hours a week. That has not been a waste.”
“I rationalised 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 in a CNBC interview as the debate over his comment refuses to die down.
