Viraj Bahl, founding father of Veeba, has slammed the rising push for excessive workweeks, labeling the thought of 70-hour work schedules as “bats**t loopy.” Whereas some business leaders name for longer hours to spice up productiveness, Bahl strongly opposes the pattern, drawing a transparent line between what’s affordable for founders and their staff.
Talking on *The Rockford Circle* podcast with Chitrangada Singh, Bahl made his views clear when requested about staff working 70-hour weeks. “It’s okay for a founder to work 70 hours as a result of he’s the most important business gainer out of it,” he mentioned. “To anticipate your group to do the identical? Loopy.”
Bahl, who launched Veeba in 2013, doubled down on his stance. “I feel the 70-hour work week is a bats**t loopy thought,” he mentioned. He confused that if firms insist on staff clocking such hours, they need to provide proportionate compensation. “Both compensate them in the identical manner you’re getting compensated for working 70 hours, proportionately, or don’t anticipate them to work 70 hours,” Bhal, who can also be one of many judges in Shark Tank India Season 4, added.
His remarks stand in distinction to the views of Infosys founder Narayana Murthy, who in 2023 known as for workers to work 70-hour weeks to spice up India’s productiveness. Murthy’s assertion sparked heated debates on work tradition, with some company leaders backing his suggestion. Bahl, nevertheless, sees it as an outdated idea.
“Anticipating somebody to work 70 hours with out an fairness upside is out of date,” he mentioned. Bahl famous that Veeba has just lately lowered its staff’ working hours. “At our firm, we just lately determined to shorten the work hours. We now function on a 40-hour workweek,” he defined.
Bahl’s opposition to long-hour work tradition makes him one of many few distinguished enterprise leaders to publicly problem the rising pattern. Whereas the talk continues, Veeba’s shift to a 40-hour workweek displays Bahl’s agency perception that sustainable work circumstances profit each firms and their groups.
