Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy’s statement on how Indian work culture should be has sparked a massive debate on social media.
He recently appeared on the inaugural episode of 3one4 Capital’s podcast ‘The Record’, in which he said he wants young people to work 12-hour days so that India can compete with economies that have made great strides in the last 20-30 years..
In an interview with former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai, he said India’s labor productivity is among the lowest in the world, adding that to compete with countries like China, the country’s youth must work overtime like Japan did and Germany afterwards. World War II.
Imploring today’s youth to take up the mantle of nation-building, Murthy said, “That is why I am asking our youth to say, ‘This is my country. I would like to work 70 hours a week’.”
However, Murthy’s comments about promoting a “crowd culture” were not well received by many on social media. Many users criticized him for his “elitist” attitude.
“How elitist! I can’t even fathom how he proposes such grueling work hours. Does he know how much time people spend traveling? How hard life can be? Doesn’t he deserve time with his family?” written by user X
“By making this statement, Mr. Murthy is essentially pushing women out of the workplace. Men are never going to share the responsibility of home care and child rearing. With a 70 hour work week, women will have no choice but to leave,” another wrote.
A third added: “@NarayanaMurthy Your call for 70 hour work weeks is not just misguided, it’s cruel. Exploiting young talent with these demands is nothing short of abuse. We will not tolerate it! Quality work comes from respect, not exhaustion.” . Time to wake up! #WorkLifeRevolt #RespectTalent”
“For Indians – and not just India – to progress, capitalists like Narayana Murthy should help create more jobs, use their corporate social responsibility funds better, and most importantly, not exploit the youth,” said a fourth.
However, some users agreed with Murthy’s thoughts on working extra for nation building.
“I totally agree with Mr Murthy’s views. It is not our moment to work less and play less. Rather it is our moment to go all out and build in 1 generation what other countries have built in many generations!” said the CEO Ola Bhavish Aggarwal.
One user said, “…Honestly, I agree with him. He is an entrepreneur who has built one of India’s biggest brands. It saddens me to see people who are nothing trolling him without understanding his point of view.”
