Narayana Murthy clarifies 70-hour workweek remark: ‘No one can impose it on others’
New Delhi: Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy clarified his earlier remarks on a 70-hour workweek during the IMC Kilachand Memorial Lecture on Monday, stating that such a practice cannot be imposed on anyone, media reports said.
Murthy’s initial suggestion last year, urging young Indians to consider working 70 hours a week, had triggered significant debate on social media.
"There's nobody who can say you should do this, you should not do it," he said addressing the controversy, according to the India Today report.
Reflecting on his personal experiences during his years building Infosys, he shared, "I used to get to the office at 6:20 am and leave at 8:30 pm. I’ve done it for 40 odd years. That’s a fact. So nobody can say that's wrong."
He emphasised that such decisions are deeply personal and not matters for public debate.
"These are not issues that should be discussed and debated. These are issues that one can introspect on, one can ingest, and one can come to some conclusion on and do whatever they want," Murthy added.
His clarification comes in the wake of heated national discussions about long working hours, reignited by L&T Chairman SN Subrahmanyan's support for a 90-hour workweek.
Subrahmanyan’s comments drew sharp reactions from industry leaders.
Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director of Bajaj Auto, criticised the idea, saying, “Let it start from the top, and if [it works] as a Proof of Concept, then implement it further down.”
He described measuring work hours as "archaic and regressive."
Echoing a similar sentiment, billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani commented on work-life balance, stating in an interview, “Your idea of work-life balance should not be imposed on me, and my work-life balance shouldn’t be imposed on you.”
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