this post was submitted on 29 Nov 2025
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Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy has once again called for longer working weeks has returned, this time with an emphasis on schedules like the 996-pattern used in parts of China.

Murthy's comments revive a debate which began in 2024, when he argued that Indian employees should work 70 hours a week.

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[–] Jaysyn@lemmy.world 46 points 5 days ago

The sooner we start eating these motherfuckers the faster things will improve.

Billionaire is a mental illness that isn't compatible with civil society,

[–] uriel238@lemmy.blahaj.zone 81 points 6 days ago (3 children)

Crunching does not work!

Instead, it reduces productivity to a fraction (often 10% of normal), countering any time added.

You want to improve your productivity, you make your workers happy. Make sure they can eat, have good healthcare, have adequate family life, etc.

We now have studies that counter the crunching myths and time theft myths.

[–] Rooster326@programming.dev 41 points 6 days ago (1 children)
[–] jali67@lemmy.zip 12 points 6 days ago (2 children)

They’re not invincible. We’re not our ancestors. Look at this little dweeb. Is anyone really intimidated by him?

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[–] willington@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 6 days ago (3 children)

Is maxxing the productivity top priority?

They might value control over their workforce above productivity.

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[–] theparadox@lemmy.world 11 points 6 days ago (2 children)

If the workforce makes a pittance and is too exhausted to rebel, the bosses win.

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[–] CileTheSane@lemmy.ca 26 points 5 days ago (5 children)

I don't understand why these assholes insist on people working more hours. What's the difference to them between 1 person working 70 hours a week or 2 people working a combined total of 70 hours if they're both paid the same hourly rate?

[–] rothaine@lemmy.zip 28 points 5 days ago

if they're both paid the same hourly rate?

That's the fun part: you only have to pay them for 40 hours!

[–] Zink@programming.dev 12 points 5 days ago (2 children)

You just aren't thinking like a billionaire, man. What you do is get the two people anyway, and still force the 70 hour work week.

Your job is not to find a reasonable steady state of operation. Your job is to exploit the resources before you (even the ones with emotions and families) to extract value for the shareholders in the most efficient way possible, before somebody even more evil and clever than you figures out a better way and we direct future fresh meat to his meat grinder instead of yours.

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[–] Hazor@lemmy.world 6 points 5 days ago

Benefits can be expensive, and they only pay you for the 40 hours because it's a salaried rather than hourly position. They just want free labor at the expense of the employees' sanity.

[–] ricecake@sh.itjust.works 5 points 5 days ago

Insurance, benefits and labor expenses. Even in places with little worker protections there are costs that scale with the number of workers instead of the number of hours.
A brief look indicates employers in India can expect to budget on the order of 18% of an employees take home per year for those expenses.

There are some circumstances and places in the US where you don't need to provide as many benefits to employees who work below 40 hours. Then you see employers hire more people and schedule them for just under the threshold to give them benefits.

The answer is always because it's cheaper for them somehow.

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[–] jjjalljs@ttrpg.network 26 points 5 days ago (1 children)
[–] Avicenna@programming.dev 48 points 6 days ago

"Infosys co-founder suggested slavery could be brought back with updated terms and conditions"

This is how this news should be titled

[–] Jyek@sh.itjust.works 48 points 6 days ago (2 children)

If you follow the standard 5 day business week, that is 70 hours worked for every 50 hours not worked. Account for 8 hours of sleep a night and you have 2 hours a day to commute to your job. Literally zero time for any other needs. And that's ONLY if you are generous enough to give everyone the weekend to recharge.

For a 7 day work week with no days off, allowing for 8 hours of sleep per day and 2 hours of commute time, that is 4 hours a day to do anything else. I also would assume that part of the day would still be considered off hours for lunch. As well. Call it 3 hours a day for anything not work related.

This man should be hanged for even suggesting this as a reasonable productivity schedule for any living being.

[–] pseudonaut@lemmy.world 8 points 6 days ago

No joke, I really do think in a just society he would be hanged.

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[–] A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world 68 points 6 days ago (2 children)

can someone kidnap this motherfucker and make him work normal labor job for 80 hours a week, for a year, and see how much he likes this stupid fucking pants on head idea after that

[–] RightEdofer@lemmy.ca 31 points 6 days ago (1 children)

The pampered idiots that suggest these things would literally not survive a year of actual work at 40 hours let alone what they propose

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[–] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 36 points 6 days ago (2 children)

CEO: has lunch and answers a phone call. “I’m working!” Writes a proposal from a yacht “I’m working!” Goes golfing with industry buddies. “I’m working!” Paid tens of millions not including stock options. Spends time in the c-suite. Actually is working. Writes a letter about his cubicle slaves who are chained to their cubicle at work, their phone at home, unable to actually use PTO due to fear of negative performance reviews, working 50+ hours on the clock and uncounted hours off the clock “You need to work more!!” With their pay and benefits constantly under assault by managers.

[–] ivanafterall@lemmy.world 9 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Like hell the CEO is writing a proposal himself on a yacht. That's what his secretary, Sugartits or Kathy or whatever, is for.

[–] JcbAzPx@lemmy.world 6 points 5 days ago

He read the proposal. That's his work for the day. Claimed 18 hrs.

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[–] IzzyJ@lemmy.world 19 points 5 days ago

Iceland made theor 4 day workweek experiment permanent...because it was actually more productive.

They don't even want all the money, they just want us to suffer

[–] SethTaylor@lemmy.world 18 points 5 days ago

These people may as well tattoo "slave owner" on their foreheads by now.

[–] Sam_Bass@lemmy.world 32 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Put his ass out there in the field for 70 hrs and see if he keeps preaching it

[–] coffee_nutcase207@lemmy.world 10 points 6 days ago

It's for thee not for me. He knows he will never have too.

[–] jali67@lemmy.zip 9 points 6 days ago

These people really think they’re invincible. It makes me laugh. There’s nothing special about them. I love how they think money makes them bulletproof or from an angry mob having their way with them.

[–] Grandwolf319@sh.itjust.works 45 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Shit like this should be shown to people who argue against unionization.

Remember, the parasites will take everything they can, even if it means their eventual demise.

[–] BrianTheeBiscuiteer@lemmy.world 17 points 6 days ago (11 children)

The ultimate goal of capitalism is to have an infinite pool of workers, working infinite hours, for $0.

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[–] shirro@aussie.zone 11 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

You could replace most management people with a rack of GPUs and nobody would notice. Mostly they are a very unimaginative lot parroting the same misguided group think that devalues the employees that create all their companies value. Infosys is a consulting company. They don't make anything or own valuable IP. They pimp out Indian labour to undercut the labour rates and conditions in developed countries which already makes them a shitload of profit.

You would think with increasing options to Indian professionals, their recruitment people would be shitting bricks trying to hire talent with this bullshit out there but they have probably sacked them as well. Though, if I wasn't poor I would probably say all sorts of shit to pump share prices and cash out before the AI bubble bursts.

[–] Stern@lemmy.world 39 points 6 days ago (1 children)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karoshi

Overwork people until they die/kill themselves, great idea, what could go wrong. Really, I want to see homeboy do a month of whatever his lowest employee does with that schedule and THEN say he's still for it. Bet he'll be real fuckin' quiet.

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[–] Dogiedog64@lemmy.world 8 points 5 days ago

So what I'm hearing from that headline alone is that he's a psychopath who doesn't work more than 5 hours a week, and what little """work""" he does consists of getting drunk at lunch and moaning to other CEOs about how lazy his workers are.

[–] HopeOfTheGunblade@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 5 days ago (1 children)

It's not just saturday morning cartoon villain evil.

It's also incredibly fucking stupid.

Anything that you get better outcomes from by making people work longer, like assembly lines, can be done better by robots anyway, and of course you as capital owner don't have to live life after your dominant hand gets crushed and amputated.

Anything that isn't pure rote work, you get better results when people are not overworked and spending thirty hours a week sticking fucking pencils in your acoustic ceiling because nobody's fucking brain works that long and hard.

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[–] switcheroo@lemmy.world 20 points 6 days ago

Go fuck yourself, parasite. Signed, the world.

[–] floquant@lemmy.dbzer0.com 18 points 6 days ago

And management will lead by example right?

...right?

[–] PhAzE@lemmy.ca 21 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

Only if he works 120 hours per week and takes a 99% pay cut.

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[–] ArmchairAce1944@discuss.online 6 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I learned that China had basically made this shit illegal years ago, but work hours in China are still insane. I am willing to bet that they will still have incredible growth and prosperity even if those workhours are strictly enforced.

People like this dipshit need to be stripped of all possessions and wealth and immured alive.

[–] nutsack@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (2 children)

Yes they are illegal but companies will use workarounds to get people to put in more time. it's a fake law basically

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[–] abbiistabbii@lemmy.blahaj.zone 21 points 6 days ago (1 children)

How long until a CEO openly argues for slavery?

[–] BrianTheeBiscuiteer@lemmy.world 21 points 6 days ago (2 children)
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[–] Darkness343@lemmy.world 13 points 6 days ago

70 hours a week? What? So we can just stare at our screens pretending to work for half that time, if not more?

Go to hell.

[–] __lone_eagle___@lemmy.ml 10 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

To be Frank guys this is the sick reality of Indian workers in India. The Labour and Workers are always exploited as much as Possible. Indian Labour Law is mostly in Favor of the Corporate Crooks, even its harder to start a WORKER UNION in Service based sectors like IT and Non coding Jobs. Normal working hours is 8 hrs but most Indian worker in such sectors their minimum working hour is 10hr (Personal experience), even the work environment it evolved into is one Most Sick and Selfish environment you could ever Imagine. Yes, sadly many Indians Lack Civic sense I don't object and we too are being discriminated in a stereotypical way for that. But I must say that many Indians who leave for On-site is not just for higher payroll but for better Work environment and to embrace their basic Work-Life Balance which is a JOKE in India.

~ Random Comrade

[–] Gammelfisch@lemmy.world 13 points 6 days ago

Another bag of shit that believes in China's 9-9-6 BS so he can float on a yacht. Stay in India loser!

[–] slacktoid@lemmy.ml 8 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Hmm time for the real Indian Revolution for fuck sake. These parasites gotta go.

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[–] Itdidnttrickledown@lemmy.world 12 points 6 days ago

These are the people that own the GIF image format. Pronounced like Giraffe. Not known to many of you. This is the company that twice threatened to sue or sued multiple companies over the use of GIF. The first time was at the birth of the web and the last time was when their patent was expiring. Its the only thing the company has ever really done with a worldwide impact and they shit on it every chance they got.

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