Microsoft is one of the most prominent tech companies in the world, with a massive market valuation of $2.78 trillion. In his recent blog post, Microsoft founder Bill Gates revealed he didn’t believe in weekends or vacations.
Bill Gates has one of the most inspiring success stories of all time — building Microsoft from scratch with his childhood friend Paul Allen and taking it to a new height. Gates talked about how in his youth, he didn’t feel like weekends and vacations hold any importance.
The Microsoft founder wrote in his blog, “When I was my kids’ age, I didn’t believe in vacations or weekends. But as I got older—and especially since I became a father—I realized there is more to life than work.”
Highlighting how real life experiences are as valuable as one’s work life, Bill Gates wrote that watching his children grow up has been an “invaluable source of wisdom in their own right”.
Bill Gates’ comments come at a time when Infosys founder Narayana Murthy made headlines for saying that the country’s youth should work 70 hours a week for the development of the nation. While Gates held similar views in the past, he is now highlighting the importance of a work-life balance.
In his blog post, the billionaire wrote, “I hope you’re able to take some time this holiday season to have fun and relax before we dive into 2024.”
Narayana Murthy’s comments on long work hours
Narayana Murthy, who is the founder of India’s biggest tech company Infosys, said that the youth of India should work 70 hours a week, sparking a major debate on social media about appropriate working hours for youngsters.
Murthy said, “India’s work productivity is one of the lowest in the world […] so therefore, my request is that our youngsters must say, ‘This is my country. I’d like to work 70 hours a week’.”
The Infosys founder himself said that he used to work 80-90 hours every week in his prime, and used to reach his workplace at 6:30 am everyday. However, his statement sparked criticism while many highlighted the quality of life at many offices, mental and physical health of the workers and low wages.es.