If you thought high number of work weeks were a hinderance to work-life balance, Elon Musk’s latest advice will shock you further. First, Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy proposed that young professionals put in 70 hours every week. Then, the chairman of Larsen & Toubro SN Subrahmanyan suggested a 90-hour workweek. Now, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has proposed a 120-hour workweek. Musk’s proposal to extend working hours has sparked a lot of backlash on social media.
According to Musk the US government’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has employees working 120 hours a week, 17 hours daily without weekends, or 24 hours a day for five days straight, without taking time for sleep.
“DOGE is working 120 hour a week. Our bureaucratic opponents optimistically work 40 hours a week. That is why they are losing so fast,” Musk wrote.
How is social media responding to this?
Musk’s idea of working such long hours doesn’t sit well with netizens who are worried about the negative effects on mental and physical health. His suggestion has been met with massive backlash on X.
“How does a 120 hour week sit with their families? No time for the kids, partners and love making… I thought you lot were ardent supporters of the family unit?” said one X user.
“While working for fed gov, I learned that it’s illegal to work unauthorized overtime. Doing so obligates the government to pay, because slavery is illegal. So how are federal staff in DOGE legally putting in these hours? Multiple shifts?” said another user.
“The worst aspect of the tech industry is overworking people, while paying them low wages, then firing them in droves. The only people who benefit are the bosses,” said another.
“This clown plays video games half the day while the other half he spends tweeting. Surely no one on earth believes that this man is working 120 hours a week. At best he’s probably putting in 2 full hours of actual work a day,” an X user wrote.
“I don’t think that’s sustainable, even for a digital currency 4-day workweeks have done wonders for hell’s productivity and morale,” another added.
“You sound like a terrible boss,” said another user.