Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy called for a 70 hour week last year - now he says that's not enough

"Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy called for Indian workers to adopt a 70-hour week last year, but he thinks that's still not enough and wants to take things further. Speaking during a recent , Murthy called for an increase in working hours from 70 to 72. That number represents the total hours worked by those on the infamous '996' schedule, which involves working from 9am to 9pm, six days a week."

"This approach, Murthy noted, appears to be the ideal format for enterprises to drive innovation, maximize employee productivity, and essentially represents real "hard work". "No individual, no community, no country, has ever come up without hard work," he said. "When I say hard work, not going to the office and sleeping there. When I say hard work it means hard and smart work.""

"While Murthy is keen on the 996 approach, it's not quite all it's cut out to be in terms of workforce productivity. The practice was widely employed by businesses in China, but was banned by lawmakers in August 2021. Research from the World Health Organization found longer work schedules have a serious negative impact on both physical and mental wellbeing for employees."

A proposal calls for increasing working hours from 70 to 72 hours, matching the total of the '996' schedule (9am–9pm, six days). The format is presented as ideal for driving innovation and maximizing employee productivity, described as exemplifying both hard and smart work rather than merely sleeping at the office. The '996' practice was widely used in China but was banned by lawmakers in August 2021. World Health Organization research links working over 55 hours per week with serious physical and mental health risks. Prior advocacy for longer hours provoked national debate.

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