As Narayana Murthy advises Indians to work 70 hours a week, the history of the 40-hour work week

NR Narayana Murthy, one of the founders of the IT company Infosys, strongly believes that young Indians should work for a minimum of 70 hours per week if the country wants to compete with the top economies around the world.

But how did the general norm of working 40 hours a week come about?

What

• The Indian billionaire businessman and tech founder, Narayana Murthy, has advised young Indians to aim for a weekly work target of 70 hours. He also noted that India's work productivity was one of the lowest in the world.

• Narayana Murthy made these remarks during the first episode of 3one4 Capital’s podcast, The Record, which was aired earlier this week.

• During the podcast, Murthy spoke about nation-building, technology, and Infosys. In a conversation with former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai, he emphasized the need for improved work productivity and reduced corruption in the government.

• Murthy expressed his belief that the younger generation must take responsibility for building the country.

• Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal agreed with Narayana Murthy's views, stating, "It’s not our moment to work less and entertain ourselves. Rather it’s our moment to go all in and build in 1 generation what other countries have built over many generations!"

History of the 40-hour work week

• Henry Ford, the American industrialist and businessman magnate, popularised the 40-hour work week after his research revealed that working more yielded only a small increase in productivity that lasted a short period of time.

• He then announced that he would pay each worker $5 per eight-hour day, nearly double the average auto worker's wage at that time.

  Later, manufacturers and companies adopted Henry Ford’s 40-hour work week policy when they observed the increased productivity and the development of loyalty and pride among Ford’s employees.

• The 40-hour work week became US law in 1940.