In a recent development, Zoho’s CEO Sridhar Vembu weighs in on the debate sparked by Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy’s surprising view on a 70-hour workweek.

Zoho Corporation CEO Sridhar Vembu has shared his thoughts on the 70-hour workweek debate started by Infosys co-founder N.R. Narayana Murthy. While partially supporting the idea, Vembu believes that imposing such a rule would have a huge trade-off. He cites examples of East Asian countries like Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and China, which have developed through hard work, but at the cost of low birth rates. Vembu suggests that it’s sufficient for 2-5% of the population to work long hours, allowing the rest to have a decent work-life balance. He emphasizes the importance of such a balance, stating that he doesn’t want India to replicate China’s economic success at the cost of a demographic decline. Vembu believes that India can develop without sacrificing its demographic health, citing the already observed decrease in fertility rates. He concludes that imposing a 70-hour workweek would not be worth the compromise.