New Delhi: Radhika Gupta, CEO of Edelweiss Mutual Fund, recently shared her thoughts on the hot topic of long working hours in corporate India. Her experiences give an interesting take on balancing ambition, productivity, and personal well-being.
In a LinkedIn post titled “Choices, Hard Work, and Happiness,” she opened up about her early career when she worked 100-hour weeks for four months straight. She worked 18 hours a day, with just one day off, sometimes not even on a Sunday, because of client demands. This crazy schedule took a toll on her, leading to emotional breakdowns (like crying in office bathrooms) and even landing her in the hospital twice.
Looking back, Gupta realized that just working long hours doesn’t mean you’re productive. Even though she was at work most of the time, her output wasn’t always effective. This taught her an important lesson: success is more about balanced and smart effort than sheer hustle.
She also made an important point about ambition and career choices being personal. Not everyone wants to chase a top executive role. Many people choose less demanding careers to have more personal time, and that’s perfectly okay. Gupta believes these choices should be respected, without any judgment.
Her views come at a time when some industry leaders have been pushing for longer workweeks. For example, L&T’s Chairman SN Subrahmanyan talked about a 90-hour workweek, and Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy suggested a 70-hour week. Gupta’s perspective challenges the idea that longer hours automatically mean better results.
