Narayana Murthy's 72-hour workweek pitch sparks outcry, employees seek work-life balance, favour 10-5-5 rule

Infosys founder Narayana Murthy has landed in soup again, for pitching a 72-hour workweek like China for India's rapid economic growth.  However, the 9-6-6 work rule in China, which the techpreneur quoted, was declared illegal in 2021 by Chinese authorities.

However, Murthy's comments has again brought to fore discussions on work-life balance, with many netizens strongly resisting the idea of "gruelling work hours" with five-day a week work schedule, with off during weekends.

During a recent television interview, Murthy said, "There is a saying in China, 9, 9, 6. You know what it means? 9 am to 9 pm, six days a week. And that is a 72-hour work week." He claimed that the longer working hours helped China to achieve rapid economic growth. 

However, once again, Murthy's comments have faced stiff resistance online. Dismissing Murthy's suggestion, an X user said, "India, choose balance, uncle. Work hard, but live fully." The user added, "Europe has a saying: 10, 5, 5. It means work from 10 to 5, 5 days a week. They walk, trek, meet friends, and truly live."

Calling it billionaire mentality, another user pointed out, "Iceland runs a four-day workweek, and it works great with high productivity. But Murthy wants billionaires to exploit India’s job scarcity. If someone works 9am to 9pm, they’d leave home by 7.30am and return around 10.30pm. Quality of Life?

What is 10-5-5 rule?

The 10-5-5 work rule is an European concept, considered an ideal work culture. An employee would work between 10am and 5pm for five days a week. As per this rule, an employee would have clocked a 35-hour work week, allowing for a healthy personal life outside of work. 

A survey by HR solutions provider Genius HRTech in August this year found there was a strong resistance among employees towards the idea of extended working hours without additional benefits or flexibility. According to the Genius Digipoll report, only 16 per cent of the 2,076 employees surveyed responded positively to the idea of extended work hours.