70 Hours Week: For or Against?

A statement by N R Narayana Murthy that youngsters (or perhaps, everyone) should work 70 hours a week created tremendous debate, with several folks rubbishing the point, and a few spoke in favour.

I believe most of them took an emotional and/or philosophical perspective to the question. I tend to agree with both points of view, and therefore, attempt to explain the issue from the lens of strategy and business models.

The vocal opposition to NRN’s idea was led primarily by the professionals, young and old, those who are employed in IT companies or other corporates. On the other hand, you heard startup founders agreeing vehemently with the proposition; similarly, many self-employed professionals pointed how they worked even longer hours.

What is the source of this difference of opinion? It is how they all perceive time differently.

Most of us, who are employed in a job, are in the business of selling our time, for a fixed fee, the salary. Interestingly, such employees often work with companies that do the same with their clients: sell their employees’ time for a higher rate. The employer makes money through the arbitrage - they would want their employees to work longer hours, so that they can increase their revenues (billing) without substantially impacting the cost. And, indeed in such a scenario, there is no reason for the employees to be willing to work longer hours, since it does not give them any upside.

A few typically break this norm - they may see working longer (or harder or smarter) as a way to grow their careers faster. They take a “risk” with their time, hoping that a non-linear growth in career will pay off eventually, with a better designation, higher salaries or stock options.

On the other hand, an entrepreneur is not selling time. They are using their passion, intellect, and hard work to build a venture; again, this is about taking a risk with time with an expectation of wealth creation. Take Hari Om, the vegetable vendor in my colony. He started out selling fresh vegetables on the footpath, outside a grocery store. He showed up 12-14 hours a day, 7-days a week. A couple of years later, he acquired the grocery store. Even during the peak of Covid lockdowns, he was there, with a smile on his face, no place for languishing. His business has flourished, in spite of increasing competition.

Sometimes, such risks do not require time as the input; maybe it is capital (for an investor or a manufacturing business), or intellectual property (for a creative pursuit or a content creator).

Next, we come to those category of people whose earnings are proportional to the time they spend. Self-employed professionals like doctors or lawyers, or manual labourers who are paid by the hour. They may be able to choose how long they want to work, depending on their earning needs or goals.

Finally, we also have work (time) that does not pay, in monetary terms, at least. Some do more of it, some less. While it does feel like a chore, it counts, because it is human effort and draws on the limited time that we all have.

Your attitude to work and hours would, therefore, depend a lot on your personal business model. Are you selling your time for a variable or fixed fee? Or are you risking your time to build a differentiated position or a venture? How you use your time to earn money or create wealth might determine how you react to what NRN said.