It's been nearly a week since Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy¡¯s advice to youngsters about working for 70 hours a week stirred a debate across social media. Ever since the 77-year-old made the statement, social media has been flooded with reactions and opinions.?
From the Infosys co-founder¡¯s wife Sudha Murthy, former Shark Tank India judge Ashneer Grover, to Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal, here¡¯s how people are reacting to the 70-hour work week statement.
Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy?said last week that he believes that 'young people should work?70 hours a week for India to compete?with rapidly?progressing economies.' During a conversation with former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai, Narayana Murthy stated that India's work productivity is?relatively low compared to other countries.
Many industry leaders are reacting to Narayana Murthy's 70-hour work week advice, with some agreeing with him and others not.
Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal agreed with the 70-hour work week suggestion, tweeting "Totally agree with Mr Murthy¡¯s views. It¡¯s not our moment to work less and entertain ourselves. Rather it¡¯s our moment to go all in and build in 1 generation what other countries have built over many generations!"
On the other hand, former Shark Tank India judge Ashneer Grover weighed in on the issue and said that Murthy's suggestion probably upset the public because work was still being evaluated based on "hours" instead of "outcome".?
He tweeted "I think junta got offended here because work is still being measured in ¡®hours¡¯ than ¡®outcome¡¯. The other thing is people feeling as if youngster¡¯s laziness is only thing keeping India from becoming developed. Funny - getting offended unites us more than cricket, religion, caste or language."
Backing Narayana Murthy's advice with data, Infosys' former Chief Financial Officer Mohandas Pai tweeted "Interesting data! This is for all ages. NRN advice was for youngsters, people below 30! Prosperity needs hard work, data shows."
CP Gurnani, the CEO & MD of Tech Mahindra, defended Murthy's advice, saying that those upset over Murthy's statement had missed the bigger picture.
Shark Tank India's Anupam Mittal too joined the debate when he shared a selfie with his fellow judges on X. His caption read: "After all these years, still working 70 hour weeks."
Radhika Gupta, MD & CEO of Edelweiss Mutual Fund also weighed in on the ongoing debate. In a veiled reference to the debate kickstarted by Murthy's 70-hour work week comment, she highlighted Twitter's apathy to women who have been multitasking for many hours in a day for many days at a stretch, without making any demands whatsoever.
Another Shark Tank India judge, Namita Thappar seemed to disagree on the matter: "Halloween shananigans are always fun, kiddos & me made these goodies,@AnupamMittal?if we listen to you & other experts about working 70 hour/ week (plus horrendous commute time) will we ever find time for family, creating precious memories & most importantly for mental health?
?Also Read:?Co-Founder?Narayana Murthy?On Why He Started Infosys
A couple of days ago, Narayana Murthy's wife?Sudha Murty?reacted to the suggestion?when she told?News18, ¡°He has worked 80 to 90 hours a week, so, he doesn¡¯t know what less than that is. He believes in real hard work and he lived like that. Hence, he has told what he felt."
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