Is It About Working Hard Or Working Smart? The 70-Hour Work Week Debate

Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy recently stirred up a hornet’s nest when he advocated 70 Hours Work Week for youngsters so that India can compete with economies that progressed in the last two to three decades. "India's work productivity is one of the lowest in the world," Murthy said while speaking to former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai for a podcast, The Record. "So therefore, my request is that our youngsters must say, ‘This is my country. I’d like to work 70 hours a week," Murthy said, adding that this is exactly what the Germans and Japanese did after the second world war. "They made sure that every German worked extra hours for a certain number of years." His comments drew critical reactions from netizens, although several industry leaders such as JSW Group CMD Sajjan Jindal, Ola cabs Co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal of Ola, and Pai supported his view. The recent remark by Infosys Co-founder spotlights a pressing question - in the era of AI, what holds greater weight the hours logged or the impact created? and can they truly be disentangled? Business Today Tv’s Managing Editor Siddharth Zarabi spoke to Team Lease services' Vice - Chairman Manish Sabharwal, Swarajya's Editorial Director R Jagannathan and Dr NS Rajan Former CEO IDFC.