''Can't Demand 70-Hour Work At 40-Hour Salary'': CureFit Founder Mukesh Bansal

It's been several days, but the debate on India's work productivity, sparked by Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy's '70-hour work week' comment continues to rage on. While some prominent business leaders backed Mr Murthy's workweek schedule, others on the internet called his proposed work schedule inhumane. Now, Mukesh Bansal, CureFit and Myntra founder joined the debate and said that working 40 or 70 hours a week is a ''personal choice'' and people should first understand their priorities. 

''First of all, it is a personal choice; health is important, family is important, career is important, and peace of mind is important. People need to know what matters in what priority order and then choose accordingly,'' he wrote in a post on his LinkedIn page.

He also remarked that it is simply not fair to expect people to work 70 hours a week at a salary of 40 hours. ''Companies demanding 70 hours/week need to also create proportional upside. You can't demand 70 hours of work at 40 hours salary. That's just not fair,'' he said. 

Mukesh Bansal's post on LinkedIn 

He further added that individuals can choose to put in more hours of their own will, for their own fulfillment and sense of achievement. Mr. Bansal also talked about his own experience of working for companies in Silicon Valley and the value of maximising productivity rather than mindlessly extending work hours. 

''But individuals can choose to put in more hours of their own will. Sometimes the learning acceleration and sense of achievement are worth its one reward. I have worked crazy hours for companies in Silicon Valley because I was enjoying it so much and the experience came in very handy later. As my career progressed, I realised that productivity of one hour can vary by a factor of 10 and I would rather focus on how to be effective in each hour, rather than mindlessly putting in more hours,'' he added. 

The entrepreneur stated that one cannot virtue signal or shame people into putting in more hours at work. ''One cannot deny that the world is moved forward by people who work hard but it should be a personal choice. We can't virtue signal or shame people into putting in more hours,'' he concluded the post. 

Notably, Mr Bansal, who is an IIT graduate, founded Myntra in 2007 along with Ashutosh Lawania, and Vineet Saxena. He then founded CureFit after selling Myntra to Flipkart.

Appearing on a podcast, Mr Narayana Murthy said India's work productivity is one of the lowest in the world and asked the youth the contribute towards building the culture so that India can compete effectively on the global stage. He also drew parallels with Japan and Germany, two countries that implemented extended working hours after the Second World War. 

Previously, many business leaders, including Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO of Ola Cabs, Sajjan Jindal, chairman of JSW Group, CP Gurnani, Tech Mahindra CEO, and CRED's Kunal Shah, endorsed Mr Murthy's comments.