After Narayana Murthy's 70-hour workweek remark, Sanjiv Bajaj shares his thoughts on long working hours, says 'we don't control...'

Billionaire businessman and Bajaj Finserv Chairman Sanjiv Bajaj has weighed in on the ongoing debate about long work hours. He stated that his company does not focus on the number of hours employees work but instead evaluates them based on their output. Speaking at the Lokmat Maharashtrian of the Year Awards 2025, Bajaj emphasised that employees receive incentives based on performance rather than time spent at the office.

“We don't control how many hours somebody works,” he said.

Bajaj explained that his company adopted this system 8-10 years ago. With 1.2 lakh employees in financial services, it was difficult to track individual performance through traditional methods. Instead, they introduced a structured evaluation process to minimise bias.

“We tried to take politics out of it. If an employee’s manager liked them, they would get a bonus. We wanted a fair system,” Bajaj said.

To achieve this, 95% of jobs were assigned measurable weekly and monthly tasks. Employees who completed these tasks received their incentives. However, Bajaj noted that senior management was evaluated differently, as their work is more qualitative.

He also highlighted the importance of working from the office to encourage innovation. Bajaj said his company returned to office work immediately after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted. Exceptions were made for those with medical conditions, but remote work was not encouraged.

"If we want to innovate, we can't do it over four Zoom screens. People need to work together," he stated.

Bajaj’s remarks come amid a heated debate on work-life balance. The discussion was reignited after L&T Chairman SN Subrahmanyan suggested a 90-hour work week, following similar comments from Infosys Founder Narayana Murthy, who advocated for a 70-hour work week.