After Narayana Murthy sparks debate over working hours, another CEO backs his 70-hour work week suggestion

A day after Infosys founder Narayana Murthy sparked a huge debate over working hours by suggesting that the young generation should work for 70 hours in a week, JSW Chairman Sajjan Jindal on Friday (Oct 27) jumped into the debate and supported the Infosys co-founder.

Jindal believed that the specific circumstances of India, which are different from those of a few developed economies, make it important for the country not to adopt “shorter work weeks” as the norm.

“I wholeheartedly endorse Mr Narayana Murthy’s statement. It’s not about burnout, it’s about dedication. We have to make India an economic superpower that we can all be proud of in India 2047,” wrote Jindal, in a post on X, which was formerly known as Twitter.

“A 5-day week culture is not what a rapidly developing nation of our size needs,” he added.

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The CEO further went on to cite the example of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who he claimed works for nearly 14-16 hours every day.

“Our PM @narendramodi ji works over 14-16 hours every day. My father used to work 12-14 hours, 7 days a week. I work 10-12 hours every day. We have to find passion in our work and in nation-building,” he said.

“Our circumstances are unique and the challenges we face are distinct from the developed nations. They are working 4 or 5 days a week because their earlier generations clocked longer & more productive hours. We can’t let shorter work weeks elsewhere become our standard,” Jindal added.

Jindal stated that the greatest strength of India is its youth and in the country’s journey to become a superpower, this generation needs to prioritise work over leisure. “As we progress, there will be opportunities for comfort, and the youth of 2047 will reap the benefits of our sacrifices and diligence,” he stated on X.

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Jindal faces backlash on X

However, Jindal had to face backlash from users on X for his comments.

“Would like to see you take the public commute to work and then work for 70 hours a week. What about our personal life? Should we give it up altogether? Stop using our PM’s name to further your nefarious thoughts. FYI, Indians are amongst the most overworked workforce in the world,” said a user.

Meanwhile, someone else stated that they should receive additional pay for working extra hours.

“Days of earning today and living tomorrow are gone. Don’t blabber just like that. If you want employees to work more hours, link the pay to the number of hours. Can’t be a one-way traffic,” another comment read.

(With inputs from agencies)

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