TV Mohandas Pai supports Narayana Murthy's '70-hour workweek' comment, shuts down critic

Former Infosys CFO TV Mohandas Pai on Friday came down heavily on a critic after he compared Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy's comment on Indian youngsters working 70 hours a week to Indian sweatshop attitude. In a heated conversation on X (formerly Twitter), Pai asked defence analyst Abhijit Iyer-Mitra to stop making value judgements about Infosys Ltd, which provides services software development, maintenance and independent validation services to many global giants.

Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy on Thursday said Indian youngsters should work 12 hours a day so that India can compete with economies that have made tremendous progress in the last two to three decades. He said India’s work productivity is among the lowest in the world and that in order to compete with countries like China. Pai anchored the podcast, which was aired earlier this week.

Iyer-Mitra, reacting to Murthy's idea, posted on X: "Typical Indian sweatshop attitude. That’s why Infosys is a glorified IT coolie provider with low-value add products."

Pai, who was the former CFO and Board Member of Infosys Ltd, posted back: "Abhijit, please stop making value judgments. You do not know Infosys nor what they do. Some of the biggest, most sophisticated global companies get their most complex work done by India. When you build something comparable, a $20 billion revenue company, open your mouth. Until then, please shut up."

Murthy, who appeared on the first episode of 3one4 Capital’s podcast ‘The Record’, told Pai: "Somehow our youth has the habit of taking not-so-desirable habits from the West, and then… not helping the country. India's work productivity is one of the lowest in the world. Unless we improve our work productivity, unless we reduce corruption in the government at some level, because we have been reading I don't know the truth of it, unless we reduce the delays in our bureaucracy in taking this decision, we will not be able to compete with those countries that have made tremendous progress. So therefore, my request is that our youngsters must say, this is my country, I’d like to work 70 hours a week."

Murthy, who founded Infosys in pre-liberalised India but made it the country's second-largest software exporter, faced massive backlash on social media from  users who said such gruelling hours are not feasible as commuting also takes a lot of time.

A user said: "@NarayanaMurthy Your call for 70-hour work weeks is not just misguided, it's cruel. Exploiting young talent with these demands is nothing short of abuse. We won't tolerate it! Quality work comes from respect, not exhaustion. Time to wake up! #WorkLifeRevolt #RespectTalent."

"For Indians — and not just India — to progress, capitalists like Narayana Murthy should help create more jobs, make better use of their corporate social responsibility funds & most importantly not exploit youngsters," another user said.

Some people supported Murthy’s view too. Ola Cabs co-founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal stated, “It’s not our moment to work less and entertain ourselves. Rather, it’s our moment to go all in and build in one generation what other countries have built over many generations.”

In a separate post, Aggarwal wrote: “Our grandparents’ generation fought for independence. Our parents’ generation fought for roti kapda makaan. Like it or not, our generation is destined to build India into the largest economy. It will take every effort. There is no better satisfaction than to contribute to this journey!”

Sajjan Jindal, Chairman, JSW Group, also agreed with Murthy. He said: “It’s not about burnout; it’s about dedication. We have to make India an economic superpower that we can all be proud of in India 2047.” Jindal added that “a 5-day week culture” is not what a rapidly developing nation of our size needs, as India’s circumstances are unique and challenges distinct from those of developed nations.”

Also read: Narayana Murthy: 'India's work productivity one of the lowest, youngsters should work 12 hours a day'

Also read: 'Nothing short of abuse': Infosys' Narayana Murthy's 70-hours work week remark kickstarts debate

Also read: Infosys Founder Narayana Murthy's Work Ethic Message To Indian Youth