Microsoft Work Hours Post Sparks Debate Over Hustle Culture, Corporate Leaders Remain Divided

A recent viral post by a user of social media platform X, that claims a Microsoft employee works just 15-20 hours a week for a salary of $300K has turned the direction of the ongoing debate. The post got nearly 2 million views and has made everyone hit a pause button and reconsider if we are too quick to put all corporates under one umbrella. 

“Talking to my friend who works at Microsoft & apparently, he works 15-20 hours weeks & plays league the rest of the time & gets paid $300K for it,” said a user on X on September 27. 

The storm of confessions that followed the death of a 26-year-old Ernst & Young (E&Y) employee due to workload and long working hours have revived the discussion around lack of work-life balance in corporates. Employees from different industries have come out and shared their experiences of working in corporates and have called out “toxic corporate culture”. 

But the recent post has hit differently as it's breaking away from the series of negative experiences shared by the corporate employees. Mahesh, another user commented on the same post and said, “Microsoft is wildly fascinating. Almost dreamlike! Almost all my friends at MSFT have the lowest hours, zero stress and make a ton of money and want to coast forever without promos.” A user named Adil Khan commented, “Similar stories in Mercedes and BMW where tech guys work little and make sizeable amount.” 

Another video by an employee at Google’s Singapore office earlier this month went viral and showed a glimpse of a stress-free workplace. The video showed the perks enjoyed by employees of Google, including a nap room and salon. 

Employers are divided on the number of working hours  

It's not just the employees who are divided on what the ideal number of working hours is and what a healthy work-life balance would be like, but several leaders have fueled the debate as well. 

There are leaders like Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy who bat for a “70-hour” work week. “India’ work culture needs to change, and youngsters should be prepared to work for 70 hours a week,” said Murthy. Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal too, in a podcast with news agency ANI, said that he works 20 hours a day all seven days of the week. 

Similarly, former managing director of BharatPe Ashneer Grover was seen praising the toxic work culture. “Offices where people say the work culture is toxic are the best offices, where people talk and fight. There are plenty of ‘non-toxic’ spaces, but the toxic ones are where the actual work gets done,” said Grover. 

While on one hand there are a number of leaders who promote the “hustle culture”, there are those as well who are criticising it, like Swiggy CEO Rohit Kapoor. Speaking at an event in Bengaluru, Kapoor called out the culture of overwork. 

“There are times when you may need to put in extra hours, but it should not become a habit or a badge of honour,” said Kapoor.