San Francisco: The debate over extended working hours reignited after Infosys Co-founder Narayana Murthy’s call for Indian youth to work 70 hours a week. His remarks drew sharp criticism and support nationwide. The discussion intensified when L&T Chairman S. N. Subrahmanyan suggested a 90-hour work week, even proposing dropping Sunday breaks to boost national productivity.
Joining the conversation, Indian entrepreneur Neha Suresh, who founded an AI startup in San Francisco, publicly supported the idea. She shared a video on X showing herself and co-founder Akash working in a small office space for over 14 hours daily with minimal breaks. “If you’re not putting in over 14 hours a day to chase your dream, you can’t expect to build a world-changing product. Working 80 hours a week is not extreme—it’s the minimum,” she wrote. The post has since gone viral, sparking mixed reactions from netizens.
If you're not spending 14+ hours a day working on your dream you're ngmi.
You can’t build a world-changing product on 9–5 energy.
80-hour weeks aren’t extreme. It's baseline. pic.twitter.com/6lTxrqUxJZ
— Neha (@Neha_Suresh_M) July 31, 2025
While some praised Suresh’s dedication, others argued that such a lifestyle is unsustainable and questioned whether long hours are the only path to innovation. Critics recalled Murthy’s earlier remarks highlighting India’s lower productivity compared to developed nations and citing post-WWII Germany and Japan’s work ethic. Subrahmanyan’s comments also stirred controversy, with employees and surveys pointing to family time and work-life balance as priorities, with 78% of respondents emphasizing family over extended work commitments.