JSW chief Sajjan Jindal draws flak after backing Narayana Murthy's ‘70-hour work week' idea

Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy's idea of a 70-hour work week has found a supporter in JSW Group Chairman Sajjan Jindal who claimed that a five-day week culture is not what the country needs.

Jindal pointed out that India's circumstances and challenges are distinct from those in the developed economies and hence the country cannot adopt a 'shorter work weeks' culture as standard.

"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," Mr Jindal said in a post on X. "A 5-day week culture is not what a rapidly developing nation of our size needs”

Jindal also claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi works for over 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.”

“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,” he added.

Jindal went on to say that the sacrifices made by today's youth will help the future generation reap the benefits. “India's greatest strength is our youth, and in our journey to become a superpower, this generation has to prioritise work over leisure,” he added

"As we progress, there will be opportunities for comfort, and the youth of 2047 will reap the benefits of our sacrifices and diligence," he wrote on X.

Following Jindal's post, many social media users took to X to slam the industrialist. One user said, “Days of earn today and live tomorrow are gone. Don't blabber just like that. if you want employees to work more hours, link the pay to number of hours. Can't be a one way traffic.”

Another social media user pointed out the importance of work-life balance, saying, “Talk some sense, give some relevant example alteast, we have family and need work life balance.”

One X user said the companies should focus on increasing job opportunities instead of overworking their employees, “India should focus on creating employment for lakhs/cr of youth who are ready to join workforce. Instead of working for 14-16hr, use more people wherever possible to get more productive,” he posted.

Another user asked if the companies will increase the salary when the working hours are increased. “Why no CEO is speaking about increasing the salary? Every year you look for 20% growth .. can the employee expect the same salary increment every year ? If you are really bothered about nation development. Please donate any excess earning above your expense to nations growth,” the user said.

Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO, Ola Cabs, also endorsed Murthy. "Totally agree with Mr Murthy's views. It's not our moment to work less and entertain ourselves. Rather it's our moment to go all in and build in 1 generation what other countries have built over many generations!" he posted.