'It is okay for a founder to work 70 hours per week because he is the biggest commercial gainer': Viraj Bahl

Veeba founder and Managing Director Viraj Bahl has taken a strong stand against the idea of pushing employees to work 70 hours a week, calling such expectations “bats**t crazy.”

In a recent appearance on “The Rockford Circle” podcast, hosted by the Indian actress Chitrangada Singh, Bahl argued that only founders—who have the most to gain—might justify long hours for themselves, but it’s unfair to impose the same on employees.

“You know, it is okay for a founder to work 70 hours because he is the biggest commercial gainer out of a 70-hour work week,” he said.

“To expect your team to work 70 hours is crazy. Either compensate them in the same way you are getting compensated for working 70 hours, proportionately, or do not expect them to work 70 hours,” Bahl mentioned.

Bahl also revealed that Veeba, known for its sauces and condiments, has reduced its working hours to 40 per week for employees—eight hours per day.

“We’re doing 40-hour weeks now,” he said, emphasizing that staff members without equity stakes shouldn’t be held to overly long schedules. “I think it’s an obsolete idea. Seventy hour weeks should not happen,” said Bahl.

Bahl’s comments contrast with views expressed by some industry stalwarts—most notably Infosys founder Narayana Murthy, who reignited the debate in 2023 by urging employees to adopt 70-hour work weeks for nation-building.

Last month, the debate resurfaced after Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Chairman SN Subrahmanyan suggested that employees should work 90 hours a week, including Sundays, to stay competitive.

“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,” he said in an undated video.

However, his remarks were not well received by business leaders. Billionaire Anand Mahindra said he values quality of work over the number of hours worked.

Speaking at the Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue 2025 in New Delhi, Mahindra said, “I have huge respect for Narayana Murthy and others, so let me not get this wrong. But I have to say, I think this debate is heading in the wrong direction.”

"My point is we have to focus on the quality of work, not on the quantity of work. So it's not about 48, 40 hours, it's not about 70 hours, it's not about 90 hours," he said. 

Bajaj Auto Managing Director Rajiv Bajaj expressed similar views, saying that if a company expects a 90-hour workweek, it should start from the top, the leadership.

"Number of hours of work don’t matter, quality of work does. We need a kinder, gentler world more than ever before," Bajaj had said.

However, some founders, including Ola and Krutrim CEO Bhavish Aggarwal, have long supported the 70-hour workweek.

“It’s not our moment to work less and entertain ourselves,” Aggarwal earlier wrote in a tweet. “Rather, it’s our moment to go all in and build in one generation what other countries have built over many generations,” he added.