Some time ago, the Infosys co-founder, Mr NR Narayana Murthy said in an interview that we should work 70 hours a week to build a prosperous and competitive India.
His timely advice generated a lot of debate. There were a lot of arguments against this suggestion and very few agreed with it.
Those who disagreed had to say:
70 hours a week? It is a crazy idea. What will happen to work-life balance? Isn’t their life beyond work?
I fully agree with Mr Narayana Murthy. We may have missed what he wanted to convey. I think Mr Murthy did not mean working only at your desk for 70 hours weekly. I believe that his definition of work is broad and includes all productive endeavours including some value-creating activities out of the office which help the economy directly or indirectly. So, after office hours, if one is engaged in some hobby which creates something, it can also be counted as work. Cooking, cleaning, washing, ironing is work also. Even working out can be counted as work as it helps one improve one’s health thus reducing the burden of one’s healthcare on the economy.
I think Mr Murthy was referring to many people whose definition of work is exactly 40 hours at the office every week most of which they while away. Those who spend their remaining waking hours watching TV or OTT, gossiping, aimlessly scrolling social media or playing games on mobile or Internet. Those spending their days and nights on WhatsApp hotly debating on politics or some other silly topic or consuming, sharing and commenting on mindless content. An alarming proportion of our youth is wasting precious time on such unproductive activities these days. Mr Murthy is alerting against such a “time pass” attitude which is eroding the enormous potential of our youth.
Most of the employees working at the Indian branches of the world’s leading multi-national companies admit that they are given huge targets which need an immense amount of hard work that requires long hours including working on some weekends,
Most working women in India who manage both career and home regularly put in much more than 70 hours a week between office and home.
After closely watching many successful entrepreneurs and other accomplished individuals at work, I have learnt that the ones who have built something big in life are those who do not look at a clock or a calendar while working. If work demands they work insane hours including working on successive weekends also. They do not hide behind “work-life balance”. They focus on the opportunity and on the work it demands. They never shut themselves from work and remain available and accessible when needed. Once a demanding project is over, they devote time to other life matters. They relax when the demand on their time relaxes. They strive for harmony rather than balance between work and life.
Something great can be created only if one is ready to put in a crazy amount of work. A great business or career cannot be built by limiting oneself to a 40-hour work week.
A strong India cannot be built by incessantly looking at the clock in the office and then spending the rest of the time viewing and commenting on inane reels, shorts and stories which do nothing other than distract us and weaken our neural networks. Those who are indulging in such wasteful practices are a drag on the economy. Mr Murthy is addressing this lot.
-Sanjay Shah
SME Business Coach