Debasis Mohapatra
Bengaluru, 16 November 2024
Infosys Founder and doyen of Indian IT services industry, Narayana Murthy has always been in favour of hard work in all the endeavors. His views have sparked a fair amount of debate across the Indian subcontinent.
While some opine that Murthy has been correct in his assessment, some others opine that work-life balance is the cornerstone of any professional life. Recently, in an interaction with a private business news channel, Murthy has said that he was greatly disappointed when Indian corporates transitioned to a five-day work week from a six-day work-week in 1986. According to him, for a developing nation like India, its citizens to toil hard for rapid progress and hard work doesn’t have any alternatives.
Against this backdrop, let’s delve deep into the reasoning for Murthy’s opinion.
India needs more working hours:
Despite sound growth in the last two decades, India remains a country with low per capita income. With 1.5 billion of population, the country needs gainful employment for its huge young population. In this perspective, enough job creation requires entrepreneurial support. It’s a known fact that at the beginning of any enterprise, sheer persistence and hard work are two essentials for any enterprise’s success. Therefore, number of working hours is critical for success.
Competitive market:
Globally, India is facing tough competition from other countries to attract investment. Foreign capital is one of the determining factors for ensuring rapid growth of the country. if Indian professionals show seriousness by putting in more hours, it is believed that foreign capital flow will improve. India has the largest talent base in engineering and STEM, which can only be tapped through foreign capital flows.
However, there are many who are not supportive of Murthy’s views. The reasons are:
Work-Life balance:
It’s not the number of hours that determine the productivity of employees. Rather, productivity is the outcome of intense focus. India has seen many instances wherein employee simply waste their time in office without much productive work. Moreover, without proper work-life balance, employees mental and physical health will suffer, impacting the overall output. Against this backdrop, many feel that Indian corporates should promote work-life balance for getting more work from a few hours.
India is already an over-worked nation:
Reports indicate that Indian workers are already overworked with an average 47-hours work week. This is way more than workers operating in other developing nations. The survey also indicates that Indian workers shy away from taking leave because their superiors are not supportive of such breaks. In this respect, asking employees to put in more hours will further burden them than making them more productive.
As the debate continues over more number of working hours, it is important to create a fine balance between employee productivity and his/her wellness. Without that balance, employee productivity will remain a pipe dream.
