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Serum's Adar Poonawalla speaks out on work-life balance: 'Can't go beyond 8-9 hours'

Jan 23, 2025 12:43 PM IST

The Serum CEO said that meeting people and building relationships, for charity or networking purposes, is as crucial as office hours.

Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla stressed that human productivity cannot extend beyond 8-9 hours, pressing on the importance of having a work-life balance.

Adar Poonawalla said that just working in office from Monday to Sunday is a "bit impractical".(Bloomberg)
Adar Poonawalla said that just working in office from Monday to Sunday is a "bit impractical".(Bloomberg)

Adar Poonawalla's remarks came after Larsen & Toubro (L&T) chairman SN Subrahmanyan endorsed a 90-hour work week, saying that he regretted not being able to make his employees work on Sundays too.

Speaking to Business Today, Poonawalla highlighted that limits of how much humans can endure. "Human beings can't be productive beyond 8-9 hours. Sometimes, you have to put in those hours, and it is fine, but you can't do that every day. From Monday to Sunday, you can't just be in the office working. That is a bit impractical," the Serum CEO said.

ALSO READ | L&T chairman’s 90-hour work week remark ‘reflects larger ambition’, says company

L&T chairman had come under fire for his remarks on work-week hours and for doubling down the same by asking what employees would do sitting at home instead. "How long can you stare at your wife? Come on, get to the office and start working," he had said.

Narayana Murthy endorses 70-hour workweek

Similarly, Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy also sparked a row after endorsing a 70-hour workweek. He pushed for the country's workforce to work more hours to help fuel the pace of India realising its full potential globally.

On the contrary, Poonawalla pressed on the importance of having a work-life balance. "These chaps feel that hard work is very important, there is no debate and substitute for hard work. But of course, you need to have a social life and balance your life so that you can come back refreshed to work and be productive," he said.

He said that meeting people and building relationships, be it for charity or with government officials or networking, is as crucial as office hours.

ALSO READ | Narayana Murthy on why 70-hour workweek should be ‘a choice’: ‘I used to get to office at 6’

However, Poonawalla also noted that the balance depends on the journey and the stage an individual is at. "If you are an entrepreneur building a business, you should work hard and do whatever it takes. After that, it is about quality of work, working smart, and working strategically," he added.

The Serum CEO also suggested the both Subrahmanyan and Murthy might not have literally meant working 365 days a year. "They just meant you have to work hard," he added.

Meanwhile, Narayana Murthy recently issued a clarification on his controversial 70-hour workweek remark and said that such a schedule was "personal choice" and should not be forced on anyone.

"There's nobody who can say you should do this, you should not do it," Murthy reportedly said.

Industrialist Gautam Adani had also earlier weighed in on the work-life balance debate, saying that it should be a personal decision and not an imposition.

Notably, in a 2021 report, the United Nations had revealed that long working hours can have severe consequences on one's mental and physical health.

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