N.R. Narayana Murthy’s advice on ‘9-9-6’ work culture applies to entrepreneurs and not regular office goers, T.V. Mohandas Pai said on Wednesday, even as he maintained that such working hours should be voluntary.
“This is for a select group of innovators who want to build unicorns,” Pai, who was chief financial officer of Infosys Ltd. when Murthy was chief executive, told ET Now during an interaction. “Ordinary employees are not being asked to work 70 hours (per week). Nobody is asking bank staff or people in offices to do this.”
During a recent interview with Republic TV, Murthy revisited his earlier call of 70-hour workweek from 2023, saying that China’s “9-9-6” work culture should be the benchmark for discipline in India Inc. “9-9-6” means working from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm for six days a week, which adds up to about 72 hours/week.
That led to an immediate backlash with critics pointing out that China declared the “9-9-6” work culture illegal in 2021 due to employee burnout and health concerns. Moreover, India already has some of the longest working hours globally, without compensation.
Murthy also drew criticism for his stance on work-life balance — “get a life first and then worry about work-life balance”, he said in the Republic TV interview.
“Not for everyone”
Pai, who is now the chairman of Bengaluru-based venture-capital fund Aarin Capital, reiterated that India’s regular workforce isn’t the target of Murthy’s advice. It’s only for those who want to build something.
As a startup founder, “you are driven by the need to build something great. If you choose to be an entrepreneur, you slug it out”, Pai said, adding that for such people, conventional work-life balance is “overrated”.
“And there’s fulfilment because you are far ahead of others.”
Work in an AI world
The debate over work culture comes when AI is upending white-collar jobs in the first place. For those are adapting to the new-new normal, AI is simplifying processes, so much so that working hours are actually shrinking globally.
Responding to criticism that growth should come from smarter systems and not longer working hours, Pai said they are not mutually exclusive.
“Yes, smart systems matter, but you cannot ignore the fact that China and the Silicon Valley founders work extremely hard,” Pai said. “If Indian startups want to compete, then they must match that level of ambition.”
What you are free to do is ignore Murthy’s advice.
“Nobody is compelling you (to follow 9-9-6 work culture),” Pai said. “If you want to do a 9-to-5 or work-from-home, do it. If you want to be an achiever, push yourself. This is about individual choice.”