Daksh Gupta, CEO of US-based AI startup Graptile.
Even as entrepreneurs push for longer working hours for employees, Daksh Gupta, the Indian-origin CEO of US-based AI startup Graptile, said he recently told candidates in an interview that the company offers no work-life balance and that working hours are from 9 A.M. . 11 p.m. without Saturday holidays and occasionally without working on Sundays. After the post went viral, Gupta said, his inbox contained “20 percent death threats and 80 percent job applications.”
“Recently, I’ve started telling candidates in the first interview that Griptile doesn’t offer a work-life-balance, that typical workdays start at 9am and end at 11pm, often later, and we work on Saturdays, sometimes Sundays. But we work. I emphasize that the environment is high stress, and there is no tolerance for poor work. It felt wrong to do this at first but now I’m convinced that transparency is good, and I know this on the way out rather than finding people on their first day. I am missing out if others do this and if there is a glaring flaw,” Gupta said in a post on X on November 9, which went viral on social media.
In another post, Daksh said, “Now that this is on the front page of reddit and my inbox is 20% death threats and 80% job applications.”
In a follow-up share, he said that to everyone who was overpaid and underpaid at their software jobs outside the US, “I feel for you, and I’m sorry it struck a nerve”.
People who work here have had 6-figure 20 hour/week jobs before, and they can go back anytime, he added.
Gupta said it may be hard to believe but there are people who want this, while it is a minority. Transparency exists to identify them.
“This way of working is not going to last forever because it is not sustainable. It is the first year or two of a startup that is like reaching escape velocity. As people have said in the comments, as we mature we will hire older, more experienced people who have families and can’t work 100 hours a week, and naturally we will adapt like any good organization,” he added.
Stating that this is not meant to be prescriptive, Gupta said that there are brilliant people who run successful companies full of brilliant people who don’t push themselves so hard. Many others started the way we are starting.
“A lot of Indians hate this post so I want to make it clear that I’m not coming because I’m Indian but because I’m a San Franciscan,” he added.
The post was heavily criticized on social media. However, some also appreciated the transparency.
Disagreeing with Gupta, venture capitalist DD said transparency is good but the trouble is that if you don’t offer work life balance for long, “employees will churn and your progress will be affected more”.
Another verified X user Naina wrote, “Yes the obvious problem is that this is toxic. While I get your enthusiasm for creating content on Graptile, I think it’s extremely toxic to employees, it’s like asking them to dedicate their entire day to Graptile. I can think of only one ideal candidate who is eager to get a job anywhere but once they are caught, I am sure they will start applying somewhere else, a workplace that offers a better work life balance. Attrition rate will skyrocket, please change if possible. All the best!”
Recently, Infosys founder N.R. Narayana Murthy also reiterated his famous call for a 70-hour workweek, saying that he does not believe in the concept of work-life balance. He also expressed dismay at India’s transition from a six-day to a five-day workweek in 1986.
“I don’t believe in work-life balance,” Murthy said at the CNBC-TV18 Global Leadership Summit.
Ola founder and CEO Bhavish Agarwal has also supported a 70-hour work week for employees.