Infosys founder Narayana Murthy’s statement on Indian work culture has sparked reactions from netizens, with many of them strongly criticising his suggestions.
Some of them even termed his statement as ‘cruel.’
Narayana Murthy wants youngsters to work 70 hr a week
The controversy began after Infosys founder appeared on the inaugural episode of 3one4 Capital’s podcast, ‘The Record,’ and stated that in order for Indian youth to compete with countries that have made significant progress in the past 25-30 years, they need to work 70 hours a week.
He alleged that India’s work productivity is one of the lowest in the world and said, ‘Our youth must say, ‘This is my country. I want to work 70 hours a week. This is exactly what Germans and Japanese did after World War II.”
Reactions of netizens over Infosys founder’s statement
After his statement went viral on social media, people reacted by slamming Narayana Murthy. One individual wrote, ‘What an elitist take!! I can’t even fathom how he suggests such gruelling work hours. Does he know the time people spend travelling? How tough life can be? Don’t they deserve time with family?’
Another person commented, ‘Indirectly #Infosys founder Narayana Murthy is saying.. work 12 hours per day spoil your mental health due to NO proper sleep after spoiling ur health, spend lakhs of rupees in hospitals for ur treatment increase the business of Infosys increase profit, revenue of Infosys.’
Four-day week work culture
Narayana Murthy’s statement came at a time when many people were supporting a four-day week work culture, which is popular in European countries.
Currently, many companies in the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Scotland, and Wales are implementing a four-day week work culture.
In India, most companies, especially in IT and ITES, follow a five-day week work culture. In this context, netizens did not welcome the Infosys founder’s suggestion and started criticizing him.
