Zoho Corporation CEO Sridhar Vembu has reignited the storm over the 70-hour work week, a debate first sparked by Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy. In a detailed post on X, Vembu didn’t just respond to the controversial idea—he raised fundamental questions about its necessity and consequences.
“The rationale behind the 70-hour work week is ‘it is necessary for economic development,’” Vembu wrote. Drawing parallels from East Asia, he pointed to the economic growth of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and China, achieved through what he called “punitive levels of work.” But these nations, he argued, now face demographic crises with birth rates so low their governments are “begging people to make babies.”
Vembu raised two thought-provoking questions: “Is such hard work necessary for economic development? Is such a development even worth the price of a lonely old age for a large mass of people?” His answers diverged from Murthy’s stance.
Addressing the first question, Vembu suggested that extreme hard work isn’t essential for everyone. “It is enough if only a small percentage of the population drive themselves hard—maybe 2-5%. The rest can maintain a decent work-life balance,” he stated, adding that he belongs to the camp that works intensely but wouldn’t impose it on others.
On the second question, Vembu was unequivocal. “No, it is not worth it,” he said, rejecting the idea of replicating China’s economic model at the cost of demographic decline. He warned against India following the same path, noting, “India is already at replacement level fertility, and further declines to East Asian levels won’t be good.”
Vembu concluded with a vision for balanced growth: “I believe we can develop without needing to work ourselves to demographic suicide.”