Debate over work-life balance has been raging in Indian social media circles over the last few months, and one of the youngest CEOs in the country has entered the fray.
Zepto CEO Aadit Palicha has said that he believes in work life balance so deeply that he’d want all his competitors to implement it. “I have nothing against work-life balance. In fact, I recommend it to all our competitors,” Palicha posted on X.
Palicha’s tweet is a tongue-in-cheek way of saying that looking to pursue work-life balance was a sure shot way to be left behind in competitive industries. Zepto itself is operating in one of the most competitive spaces there is, with Blinkit, Big Basket, Swiggy Instamart and even legacy players like Tata and Reliance looking to make their mark in the quick commerce space. Palicha seems to be saying that if these other companies focused on work-life balance, it would give Zepto an opportunity to work even harder and gain even more marketshare.
Now this Palicha quote isn’t original — US-based CEO Daksh Gupta had posted it on X last month. But the Zepto CEO has shared his feelings about work-life balance at a time when it is being hotly debated in Indian circles. A few months ago, former Infosys CEO Narayan Murthy had said that he would like young Indian professionals to work for 70 hours a week, which would enable the country to quickly grow the standard of living for its citizens. Murthy’s comments, however, were criticized by some on social media, who said that 70-hour workweeks were exploitative, and would lead to burnout and no work-life balance.
But Murthy isn’t the only tech leader who doesn’t think work-life balance is very important. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang says he’s either working or thinking about work all the time to a degree that he’s unable to remember movie plots because he’s thinking of work while watching them. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has said that he doesn’t believe in work-life balance but instead believes in work-life harmony.
Interestingly, Zepto CEO Aadit Palicha’s comments on work-life balance come a day after an anonymous Reddit post had complained of ‘toxic’ work culture at Zepto, which required people to work for 14 hours a day. Palicha’s comments seem to be an acknowledgement that in spite of criticism, Zepto would continue grinding hard to compete with the bigger players in the fray in the quick-commerce space. And it’s possibly for the best — while people are free to make their own choices around how to manage their careers, very few great companies have ever been built by worrying too much about work-life balance.