Has anyone stopped to ask how Gen Z feels about Narayana Murthy’s 70-hour work week comment?

Out of the 35 Gen Z who spoke to us , 32 of them voted for Mr Murthy to go a bit easy, while three begrudgingly said youngsters could work a little harder.

While some like Anamm Inamdar, a 23-year-old student of design, were fervently against the idea of “trying to turn humans into work machines. It’s always these rich leaders exploiting the employees.” There were those like 25-year-old Shraddha Pandey who were open to the idea if they were to get “direct shares in the profit of the company like Mr Murthy does.” Or Drishti Sharma, who otherwise believes productivity should be measured in output, rather than hours, but if needed, she would be willing to work those hours. “On the condition of being paid for the overtime, as per the industry norms.”

Time to ask Gen-Z on what they think about a 70-hour work week idea. (Source: Freepik)

A 24-year-old journalist says she knows multiple Gen Zs  who routinely clock extra hours. She thinks it makes sense for entrepreneurs or artists to work passionately for their dream business or brand, but an employee doesn’t have that kind of emotional investment in a company.

This seemed to be the winning emotion among all of them. “Of course, an industrialist, with a house full of personal staff to cook and clean and parent their kids, believes staying in office for 70 hours in a week is sustainable,” says 25-year-old Maira Biswas (name changed), who works at a leading Indian newspaper.

Biswas says she is privileged enough to already be spending 70 hours a week in the office without having to think about being underpaid, but who does that benefit? “Will that ensure I am compensated proportionately? Will that seal my promotions? Or will that simply attract vague promises like ‘It will help your chances of bagging raises and promotions’? Who will my 70-hour intensive labour benefit? Undoubtedly, Mr Murthy and other billionaires like him.”

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