Ever since Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy made that statement urging Indians to work 70 hours a week to increase work productivity of India which is presently at the lowest in the world. His statement sparked off a country wide debate taking world stage too. Corporate leaders like Jeff Bezos are advocates of similar punishing routine. Scientific studies show on the contrary. Work productivity is best between 50 to 55 hours only. Let us consider some scenarious. But before that some calculations.
Total possible week hours is the famous 24 x 7 thing which equals 168 hours. A standard 9 to 5 job with saturday and sunday off means 40 hours a week.
Wholesale market at Bhagirath Market & Sarojini Market, Delhi
Chandni Chowk wakes up early morning with the workers and labourers scurrying around to work. By 10 am the whole market is ready to receive customers. Since Bhagirath Market is one of the largest electronics market in Asia there is a steady flow of customers all day long and well into the evening. If it is the festive season, increase a few more hours into the night. 10 am to 8 pm makes it 10 hours a day. With just one sunday off, that becomes 60 hours a week. Festive season might even push it to 70 hours!
Sarojini Market is not that lucky with Sundays, so this market practically runs the whole week with a punishing schedule. Almost 85 hours a week.
Gol Gappa seller outside the park
Starting every evening till late this guy essentially sells for about four hours of intense work which makes it 28 hours a week. But in all probability he is doing two jobs, so the evening job is the second one. Two jobs add up to 10 hours a day which is well over 70 hours a week.
The IT revolution
Two decades of IT revolution means there is now an IT park in virtually every major and minor city in India. These offices usually have a longish schedule. Many of them work night shifts too. Those away from the glare of the glamorous IT jobs in big town really have to work the long hours.
What is the real balance?
It is common for business leaders and corporate honchos giving advice and quotes. Many of them are great inspiration too. But these quotes lack one basic rule. You cannot generalise something for everyone. Each person has his or her own requirement and every person works hard for achieving their goals.
The fascinating part is how every person tries to maximise. There are so many people around us who go at it hard and forget they have a personal life too. So these corporate leaders should instead focus on asking Indians to have a balance rather than getting lost in working more.
I am a techie and WordPress junkie. I can take your idea online and provide solutions tailored to your brand and business. From hosting to setting up your social media accounts, I can give you the whole picture. When not working, I am behind the lens, capturing the wonderful thing called nature.