Vinod Khosla backed NR Narayana Murthy’s words and said that one needed to toughen up and be driven internally.
More than a month after his suggestion that India’s youth must work 70 hours every week to improve the country’s overall work productivity, Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy found another supporter for his views, this time from Sun Microsystems co-founder Vinod Khosla.
In an X (formerly Twitter) Q&A session on Saturday, Khosla was asked by a user about what he thought of Murthy’s suggestion and he replied saying those who felt “attacked” by his views needed mental health therapy and if they did not wish to work for 70 hours every week, then they should be ready to face the consequences that follow.
“For people who “felt attacked” by this they need mental health therapy. They should learn to “toughen up” and not feel attacked. OK to not work 70hrs/wk and live with the consequences of the choices you make. He is speaking to “career ambitious” young people but there are other ways to live with different choices,” Khosla wrote.
For people who “felt attacked” by this they need mental health therapy. They should learn to “toughen up” and not feel attacked. OK to not work 70hrs/wk and live with the consequences of the choices you make. He is speaking to “career ambitious” young people but there are other… https://t.co/QCFGhHjkMV
— Vinod Khosla (@vkhosla) December 2, 2023
Elaborating further on his views, Khosla urged others to be driven internally and not externally.
“Not working 70hrs/wk may not get you the biggest house or car to show to your neighbors, but you can make that choice. Lots of other things make people happy. Be internally driven and not externally driven by what others expect of success: bigger titles, bigger house don’t make everyone happy,” he said.
Not working 70hrs/wk may not get you the biggest house or car to show to your neighbors, but you can make that choice. Lots of other things make people happy. Be internally driven and not externally driven by what others expect of success: bigger titles, bigger house don’t make… https://t.co/lTJfMq5xSl
— Vinod Khosla (@vkhosla) December 2, 2023
Khosla’s first reply got a several mixed comments from users. Some agreed with his views while others spoke about an imbalance between putting in the long hours and getting paid for the work done.
“I happily worked 70 hours a week doing all kinds of stuff when I was starting out. Sometimes for others, mostly for my own businesses. Zero regrets,” one user wrote.
“I have worked more than that in corporate America while starting out. Early years are about learning,” another user wrote.
“I worked 70+ hrs/week on a startup I was passionate about in my late 20s and early 30s. It formed the foundation of my career even though this startup failed in 2000. But I missed 2 years of my young son’s life,” a third user wrote.
Khosla joined the likes of JSW Chairman Sajjan Jindal and Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty, who came out in support of Murthy’s views.
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