In a recent interview with ANI, Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal showed support for Infosys founder Narayana Murthy’s advice for a 70-hour work week.
However, this did not go well with him as he received backlash with netizens questioning whether he knew the existence of ‘Work-life Balance’ and had concerns about the possible health complications.
Here’s What he said in the Interview
On ‘70 hours work’
In the interview with ANI, OLA CEO Bhavish Aggarwal was asked about his views on Murthy's 70-hour workweek advice.
He said, "I should do more, and I'm fully in sync with his (Murthy's) direction to the youth.”
! Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal says he works 20 hours a day "all seven days" -- which would be twice the 70hr-work week prescribed by Murthyhttps://t.co/40T4dIBXo9— Gerry Shih (@gerryshih) July 12, 2024
“When Mr Murthy said that (70-hour work week), I was publicly in support of that and I got trolled on social media for that. But, I don’t care because I have a strong belief that one generation will have to do tapasya… so that we can build the number 1 country in the world, the largest economy.
In October 2023, Infosys founder N.R. Narayana Murthy ignited a nationwide debate by suggesting that young Indians should work 70 hours a week to help the country compete with advanced economies.
On ‘Work-Life Balance’
In an interview with YourStory, Bhavish Aggarwal have also said, “I don’t agree with the work-life balance concept because if you are enjoying your work, you will find happiness in life also and work also, and both of them will be in harmony.”
He added, "Therefore, my view has always been that those of us in India who have received so much benefit from the country from the taxpayer have an enormous responsibility to work very hard to bring a chance for the betterment of life of the poorer sections of the society. Therefore I don't regret it.”
Narayan Murthi - 70 hrs a week.
Bhavish Aggarwal - Pura mahine kaam karo.
Indian founders mindset 🤌 pic.twitter.com/EtLCmoUlCZ— Tweeting Quarantino (@rohitadhikari92) July 10, 2024
On Saturday-Sunday as Off Days
In an interview with YourStory, Bhavish Aggarwal also dismissed the concept of Saturdays and Sundays being off days. He said that it is borrowed from the Western culture.
He said, “In the modern age, Saturdays and Sundays hold no value for me," he said. "If I look a few decades ahead, I don't think work is about 5 days of work and 2 days off. But it is hard to put a system around that, and OLA doesn't have a solution."
Neurologists says ‘Long Working Hours Causes Diseases”
A top neurologist, Sudhir Kumar, from Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad, in a post on X, called out Aggarwal, warning that working like a machine could lead to serious health issues, like cardiovascular diseases and even premature death. He highlighted the dangers of prolonged work stress on both mental and physical health.
Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal backs Narayana Murthy's 70-hour work week advice: Do you agree?
What do the scientific studies show?
➡️Working 55 or more hours per week is associated with a 35% higher risk of a stroke and a 17% higher risk of dying from ischemic heart disease, compared… pic.twitter.com/Lb18PP6RAZ— Dr Sudhir Kumar MD DM (@hyderabaddoctor) July 11, 2024
"Working long hours is associated with increased risk of multiple serious diseases like overweight, prediabetes, and Type 2 diabetes and even premature death," said the neurologist
“Working 55 or more hours per week is associated with a 35 per cent higher risk of a stroke and a 17 per cent higher risk of dying from ischemic heart disease, compared to working 35-40 hours a week,” he added.
He said that working for more than 55 hours a week kills more than 8,00,000 people every year, he said.
"CEOs are inclined to recommend long working hours for their employees to improve their company's profits and their own net worth," the neurologist said.
He revealed the harsh reality that in the case "where employees fall sick, they can be easily substituted".
"It is in your best interest to choose an organisation that cares for employees and recommends reasonable working hours- to ensure a better work-life balance," he advised the employees.
Photo: Multiple Sources
(Inputs from Agencies)
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