70-hour work per week: Docs point out risk of heart attack

NEW DELHI: Amid Infosys founder Narayana Murthy's advice to youngsters in India, urging them to work 70 hours a week, several doctors across the country informed me that it may raise the risk of heart attack, stress, anxiety, and back pain, among others.

During a podcast, Murthy said that if India wants to compete with developed economies that have made remarkable progress in recent decades, youngsters should work for 70 hours a week.

Dr. Deepak Krishnamurthy, a Bengaluru-based cardiologist, broke down the amount of time spent by an average professional, dividing the day between work and other commitments.

"24 hours per day (as far as I know). If you work six days a week, 12 hours per day, and the remaining 12- to 8-hour sleep, 4 hours remain. In a city like Bengaluru, 2 hours on the road, 2 hours remain-brush, poop, bathe, eat," Krishnamurthy posted on X (formerly Twitter).

He said this will leave "no time to socialize, no time to talk to family, no time to exercise, no time for recreation, not to mention companies expect people to answer emails and calls after work hours also.

"Then wonder why young people are getting heart attacks?"

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), long working hours beyond 55 per week result in a 35 percent higher risk of stroke and a 17 percent higher risk of heart disease compared to working 35-40 hours a week.

The WHO and the International Labour Organization, in a paper published in Environment International in 2021, showed that long working hours led to 745,000 deaths from stroke and ischemic heart disease in 2016, a 29 percent increase since 2000.

"A 70-hour workweek cannot be the norm or even a recommendation," wrote Dr. Ambrish Mithal, Chairman, Endocrinology and Diabetes, Max HealthCare, on X.

While "mandatory or expected work hours would be approximately 48 hours per week," he said that to achieve success, many people in their youth have spent 70 hours per week. However, he said "It cannot be made mandatory".

Dr. Maninee, a paediatrician, said long working hours can cause tension in the family and lead to autism in children.

"It is because of toxic work culture and extended working hours that families are suffering. No wonder we are seeing so many autistic kids these days because parents are not able to find time to interact with their kids," Dr. Maninee posted on X.

"Say no to 70 hours a week".

Another doctor, Dr. Sidharth Unnithan, a sports medicine physician, calls 70 hours of work per week "ridiculous".

"It means 5 days, almost 12 hours per day, which means from 9 to 9. Well, my wife, who is a psychiatrist, will have a field day with increasing cases of anxiety and stress, and me with back pain and tennis elbow".

Some doctors also said that working long hours should not be forced, but rather be done out of free will.

"You can work 70 hours a week if you work for yourself. The hustle will eventually pay off. You get to keep the fruits of your labour. You get wealthy. What is dumb is to work 70 hours for someone else's next billion in a soul-crushing job. Especially if the pay is peanuts," said Karthik Balachandran, #Endocrinologist at SRMC, Chennai.

"If someone forces you to work that hard, the results may be catastrophic, but if the force is from within, your health may not suffer that much. Youth these days are working more because of external pressures. So, if you work beyond 70 hours per week because Mr. Murthy told you, you will suffer," Dr. Mukharjee Madivada, interventional cardiologist at Pulse Heart Charitable Trust, said. (IANS)

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