The 90-hour work week debate: ‘Working 100 hours and being unproductive’, Radhika Gupta shares why she feels ‘miserable’

Radhika Gupta, CEO of Edelweiss Mutual Fund, joins the debate on 90-hour work week championed by L&T Chairman SN Subrahmanyan and shares her story on why nearly 100 hours of work Inefficient.

In a long article on X, Radhika Gupta shares her journey and the lessons she has learned in her career.

“Choice, effort, happiness

I debated writing this article because in this world of headline bait, the risk of being misquoted on this issue is high. But I try to share a nuanced perspective on work-life balance issues.

1. Hard work is important, I was taught and believed it was the only way to move up. In a highly competitive workplace, I also believe that people who work harder will be promoted faster. Great careers, achievements, and companies are the result of a lot of hard work.

2. Working hard is a choice. Ambition is a choice. Choices have consequences. Not everyone has to aspire to be a CEO or founder with a huge exit opportunity. I know many people who have chosen less demanding career paths in their fields because time off work is important to them. No judgment.

3. Now let’s talk about time. In my first job, I worked 100 hours a week on my first project for four months straight. 18 hours a day, with one day off (not Sunday – I have Monday off because I have to be at the client site on Sunday).

What does that look like? 90% of the time I was in pain. I went to the office bathroom and cried, had room service chocolate cake at 2am, and was hospitalized twice. On top of that, I might have worked 100 hours, but I wasn’t very productive. The same story applies to many of my graduating classmates who have held similar roles in banking, consulting, and more.

Hard work does not equal work hours. In entry-level careers, a lot of time is purely face-to-face. Heck, I know a friend who created a screensaver using an Excel mockup to fool his boss into believing they were in the office! It’s no wonder many of us don’t last long in these roles. Hard work has to be sustainable so that we stick with it over the long term, which is where compound interest comes into play.

4. Working hours does not equal productivity. Many developed countries practice an 8-4 hour workday, but make sure these hours are productive. Come to work on time, do your best work, hold only necessary meetings, and use technology to increase efficiency. Recently, I told my investment team, “Let’s find a way to use AI to make research more efficient—our talent can’t spend their time doing grunt work.”

5. Family and mental health are indispensable. Otherwise, we will build a world of anxiety and meltdowns, premature heart attacks, unhappy marriages, and absentee parenting. I can work like a young single girl because I have no responsibilities. Today, between having a career, managing a household, taking care of my parents, and spending time with my husband and son, I am very busy. Despite the privileges of: a hands-on husband, support staff, dedicated parents, and vast resources. I commute 1.5 hours a day, but many people commute 3-4 hours in our city. They have to take care of the house, do housework, pack their luggage, send their children to school, etc.

6. As organizations, we must consider the culture we create. Of course, founders/CEOs will work harder – they have a financial incentive to do so. But I’ve found in our own organization that when you create a culture where people find purpose in what they do, they will rise above you, even in difficult personal situations. It’s difficult to force anything, let alone a certain amount of time. It’s easier to motivate people to do their best.

7. All of us must contribute towards making India a developed country. But as we do so, we should also strive to be a happy nation—enjoying the fruits of development: the joy of building, enabling our families to live better lives, and experience joys that previous generations may not have experienced. Happiness, inclusive growth, and development go hand in hand.

Finally, I meet many young people, especially women, who question whether they should have a family because they worry that family and career cannot coexist. The debate frightened them even more. It is possible to have enjoyable work and life relationships while contributing to the dream of Viksit Bharat. Let us tell our children,” Radhika wrote on X.