Narayana Murthy Pitches For 72-Hour Work Week Again Citing China's '9-9-6 Rule'; Netizens Fume

Infosys founder and patriarch N.R. Narayana Murthy has grabbed the attention of netizens once again as the India Inc leader pitched for Indian employees to follow a 72-hour work-week. In a recent interview with Republic TV, Murthy validated his 72-hour work-week belief as he highlighted the infamous '9-9-6 rule' followed in China by employees.

The former Infosys chairman said one should first "get a life and then worry about work-life balance". Murthy added that one constant theme has come up repeatedly in his experience, and that is "no individual, no community, no country has ever come up without hard work." 

The tech industry's tycoon first pitched for employees to follow a 70-hour work week last year. Several India Inc leaders including L&T's S N Subrahmanyan and Helios Capital's Samir Arora greed with him, while many such as Devina Mehra, Rajiv Bajaj, and others had disagreed.

"Last year, Catamaran senior and middle-level staff went to China, and they went to tier 1 cities, tier 2 cities and tier 3 cities. They stayed in tier 3 kind of hotels because we wanted to understand the real China. And you know there is a saying there, 9,9, 6. You know what it means? 9 am to 9 pm, 6 days a week. And that is 72 hours a week," he told the TV channel.

Murthy also mentioned in the interview that Prime Minister Narendra Modi works for 100 hours a week, adding that this is an example for the youth to work hard and smart to provide opportunities for the less fortunate.

Netizens were quick to respond to Murthy's remark and vehemently disagreed over the notion with many suggesting that India's labour force is already working at its full potential, despite the deplorable quality of life over failing infrastructure in metro cities and high pollution levels.

Reacting to Murthy's latest remark, one user on 'X' (formerly Twitter) said, "Sir Narayana Murthy we should take good examples from this world, not bad. Unclear why your ideas of a modern burnout keep surfacing every two business days but not a single peep on matters of matching salaries/compensation per the work hour expectations."

Another 'X' user said, "There is a saying in China, 9, 9, 6. You know what it means? 9 am to 9 pm, 6 days a week. And that is 72 hours of work-week," said Narayana Murthy. Respectfully, this mindset is exactly why burnout is becoming a global epidemic. A 72 hour workweek isn’t ambition — it’s exploitation dressed up as wisdom. Innovation comes from balance, not breaking people.” “We need smarter work, not longer chains."

The '9-9-6 rule' in China refers to a 12-hour work schedule of 9 am to 9 pm for six days a week, taking the total to 72-hours per week. This was common in a few Chinese tech companies, but reports indicates that it has been outlawed by the Chinese government as it led to widespread burnout, poor work-life balance and health issues among employees.