Adar Poonawalla on Work-Life Balance: 'Quality of Work Matters More Than Quantity'

The debate was first ignited by Infosys founder Narayana Murthy and more recently triggered by Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Chairman SN Subrahmanyan.

Continuing the ongoing debate on work-hour balance, Serum Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla said on Sunday that quality of work is always more important than quantity.

The debate was first ignited by Infosys founder Narayana Murthy and more recently triggered by Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Chairman SN Subrahmanyan.

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While Murthy has been rallying for 7Nat0-hours a week, Subrahmanyan kept demanding work at 90-hour per week, even on Sundays, to stay competitive.

"Quality of work over quantity always. #worklifebalance," Poonawalla posted on X.

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While reiterating the sentiment of Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra, Poonawalla commented, "Yes [Anand Mahindra], even my wife [Natasha Poonawalla] feels that I am great, she loves gazing at me on Sundays.".

His comments follow Mahindra's recent remarks saying that it's not about working 48, 70, or 90 hours a week, but rather the output produced .

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"My wife is wonderful, I love staring at her," Mahindra had said, taking a dig at the L&T Chairman's latest comments.

Subrahmanyan had recently said that he regretted that L&T employees weren't working on Sundays saying, "If I can make you work on Sundays, I will be more happy, because I work on Sundays also."

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He further questioned, "What do you do sitting at home? How long can you stare at your wife? How long can the wives stare at their husbands? Get to the office and start working."

Condemning Subrahmanyan's remarks were Bollywood superstar Deepika Padukone, Harsh Goenka, Chairman of the RPG Group, and former Indian badminton star Jwala Gutta.

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After facing all this backlash, the company went on to claim that the Chairman's remarks reflect a larger ambition in the form of nation-building: "emphasising that extraordinary outcomes require extraordinary effort".

Overwork is said to increase the risks of burnout and lower the productivity at the workplace. More so, the personal life as well as relationships within the family may be compromised.

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It leads to an impairment in the sleep cycle, therefore raising the chances of depression, anxiety, and stress. In total, the risks of having a heart attack, stroke, or early death may be enhanced.

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