New Delhi: Work-life balance has been a buzzword lately and now World Bank boss Ajay Banga has joined the discourse. A video has surfaced on social media where the World Bank President has addressed the issue. Calling the concept very personal, Banga stated that perceptions of work-life balance vary from person to person.
"While some individuals feel balanced working 12-18 hours daily, others struggle with more than six hours. Ultimately, defining balance is a deeply individual task. I don't know how you define it for yourself''', he noted.
Banga believes everything boils down to two basic points: loving your work and prioritising time for yourself and loved ones. "If you don't enjoy what you're doing, it's time to do something different. If you're going to work as hard as we work… and if you're not going to enjoy what you're doing when you travel, why the hell are you doing it?” he stated.
Banga also highlighted the importance of being present in the important family events as he cited his own example where he used to fly back home for important family events, even if just for a day.
"You've got to provide time for their play… because it's important to them. If you're not going to be there when they need you, then you've got no balance," he said.
Former Mastercard CEO, Ajay Banga on work-life balance: pic.twitter.com/Hi3liSr5of
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The focus shifted on work-life balance issue when Infosys co-founder Narayan Murthy floated the idea of a 70-hour work week last year in a conversation with former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai. Murthy advocated that India's young workforce should commit additional hours to work to compete effectively with nations like China.
“India's work productivity is one of the lowest in the world. Unless we improve our work productivity, unless we reduce corruption in the government at some level, because we have been reading I don't know the truth of it, unless we reduce the delays in our bureaucracy in taking this decision, we will not be able to compete with those countries that have made tremendous progress,” he had said.
His remark kicked off a debate on social media where many users criticised Murthy, saying long working hours will disturb the work-life balance.
Industry leaders like Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal and Jindal Group chairman Sajjan Jindal have backed the idea. However, Billionaire Harsh Mariwala argued that long working hours do not necessarily points to hard work.
"Reflecting on the recent sentiments expressed by Mr. Narayan Murthy regarding young people working 70 hours a week, I feel compelled to share my perspective. Without a doubt, hard work is fundamental to achieving success, but it is not synonymous with the number of hours logged. It's about the excellence and enthusiasm one brings to those hours.," he said.