29/10/2023
70 hour week !!! https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/narayana-murthys-70-hour-work-week-remark-triggers-netizens/article67466794.ece
I think too much is being read between the lines on a simple statement . 70 hour week is about 11 hours a day if one works 6 days of a week .
With the internet & the smartphone all of us have the invisible "dog chain" around our necks & actual time of work & off-work has blurred . As long as one is in network, one is working , that is the unwritten norm.
As an entrepreneur in the Electronic system design & manufacturing domain, A call with a South asian supplier is normal at our 7 am which is their 9.30 am , this happens during my morning walk , then back home ,get ready & the India day starts , post lunch Europe opens , then late evening US .If one is fully committed & to a large extent obsessed with one's work , one does not count the hours, one is committed & passionate , life progresses well .
This is the culture which our team & most of us in the Industry follows .We dont really count the hours , yes but 70 hours is a norm!! & we have been doing it all along .
Yes , Like Mr.Murthy said , if we have to really catch up with the world we need to invest these extra hours & this is the bare minimum one needs to invest to be successful .
What Mr.Murthy did not harp on is "work life balance " which is paramount . Especially post pandemic , Mental health is the focus . Anxiety, depression , and facing failure are the biggest problems currently faced in the work place . If one does proper time management , spends an hour each day with family ( dinner time with internet fasting , all devices on flight mode) , 1 hour for physical activity in the morning ( phones /calls on) & a good friend circle during weekends or in our case , dinner meetings with supplier friends on weekdays , we are also able to strike the perfect work life balance . Yes, of course nothings perfect , There will be blurred boundaries , but one must keep it in mind & try make one's life wholesome
.Narayana Murthy's call for 70-hr work week sparks debate: Business leaders endorse it, but netizens criticise it. Ola Cabs' Aggarwal & JSW Group's Jindal support it, citing need to make India an economic superpower. Social media users point to low pay & lack of work-life balance.