Click here to follow Screen Digital on YouTube and stay updated with the latest from the world of cinema.
© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Infosys founder Narayan Murthy recently commented on how youngsters should start working 70 hours a week, to improve the country’s productivity. His comments garnered mixed responses from people as they debated the pros and cons of long working hours. Shark Tank India judge Namita Thapar recently took to social media to share her take, raising concerns about how this could impact family time and mental health.
Sharing a video of her celebrating Halloween with her family, the executive director of pharmaceutical company Emcure tagged co-judge Anupam Mittal, questioning him supporting Murthy’s comment. She wrote on X (former Twitter), “Anupam Mittal, if we listen to you and other experts about working 70 hours/week (plus horrendous commute time) will we ever find time for family, creating precious memories, and most importantly for mental health?”
To this, the Shaadi.com founder replied, “Not counting but am pretty sure you are up there in terms of weekly hours Better to embrace and find work-life harmony than to continue to be torn between work-life balance.”
Carrying the debate further, Namita posted a tongue-in-cheek poster that read, “Thoda sukoon bhi dhundhiye janaab, ye zaruratein to kabhi khatm nahin hogi.” It roughly translates that one should try to find some peace sometime as our needs are never-ending.
She also wrote how such long working hours would only benefit medicine companies as more people would fall ill often. “All that 70-100 hrs a wk will ensure is that Pharma co’s keep making tons of money due to poor physical & mental health ..not ideal, plus “each to his/ her own”, we have to help each employee be “the best version of themselves” how can we as leaders or companies ever enforce ?,” Namita Thapar posted.
A few days back, Anupam Mittal had shared a selfie with other ‘sharks’ Namita Thapar, Aman Gupta (boAt), Amit Jain (CarDekho) and Vineeta Singh (Sugar) on X, as he wrote, “After all these years, still working 70-hour weeks”.
While speaking to former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai for a podcast, The Record, Narayan Murthy said, “India’s work productivity is one of the lowest in the world.” He added that unless the country improves its productivity, it will not be able to compete with countries that have made progress.
“Therefore, I request that our youngsters must say, ‘This is my country. I’d like to work 70 hours a week’,” the tech guru said, adding that Germans and Japanese did exactly that after the Second World War. “They made sure that every German worked extra hours for a certain number of years.” While he received a backlash over the statement on social media, many industrialists and employers supported him.
The third season of Shark Tank India is set to launch soon on Sony TV and SonyLIV.
Click here to follow Screen Digital on YouTube and stay updated with the latest from the world of cinema.
