Infosys founder Narayana Murthy has reignited the debate over longer work hours and a 72-hour work week, this time citing a Chinese model of work hours and week.
In a recent interview to a TV channel, Murthy, who in the past, faced flak for pitching a 72-hour work week, has once again asked Indians to work longer.
"Last year, Catamaran senior and middle-level staff went to China, and they went to tier 1 cities, tier 2 cities and tier 3 cities. They stayed in tier 3 kind of hotels because we wanted to understand the real China. There is a saying in China, 9, 9, 6. You know what it means? 9 am to 9 pm, 6 days a week. And that is a 72-hour work week,” the Infosys founder has been quoted as saying.
He claimed that the longer working hours helped China to achieve rapid economic growth.
So, what's the 9-9-6 rule?
The 9-9-6 rule refers to employees working from 9 am to 9 pm, six days a week. This would come to a total of 72 hours, an idea that the Infosys founder pitched earlier as well.
However, the Chinese authorities had in 2021, issued a warning that such punishing work hours is illegal.
"Legally, workers have the right to corresponding compensation and rest times or holidays. Complying with national working hours is the obligation of employers," the notice from Chinese authorities warned.
According to China's labour laws, a standard working day is only eight hours long and a work week is 44 hours. Work exceeding these stipulated hours requires extra pay.
However, according to media reports, the labour laws were not exactly enforced well and the brutal 996 work culture went on, forcing the government to issue a warning in 2021.
