While many countries test four days and more flexible work policies, there is a company to row in the opposite direction. Greptile, an American artificial intelligence startup, has a CEO who advocates 80 hours a week. Daksh Gupta does not hide what it requires: 14 hours, weekends included, and zero space for breaks or personal balance.
“The day starts at 9am and ends at 11pm, many times later,” wrote Gupta on social network X (former Twitter). On Saturdays you work, and on Sunday too, “sometimes”.
The publication did not go unnoticed. It quickly spread to digital forums and platforms, giving rise to criticism and rekindling the debate on the limits of work. According to the website specializing in finance and economy, Business Insider, Gupta admits that his company “offers no balance between personal and professional life”, describing the internal environment as “high stress” and “low -performance zero tolerance”.
Extreme model or modern requirement?
The idea that working more hours automatically results in greater productivity has been denied by several studies. The World Health Organization warns that weeks over 55 hours increase the risk of heart disease and other serious complications.
In Spain, according to data cited by Forbes, about 49% of workers report stress levels every day. The effects of burnout are increasingly recognized: chronic exhaustion, loss of motivation, sleep disorders and concentration difficulties are just some of the signs.
Still, Gupta maintains his position. In previous statements, he had argued that “personal sacrifice” is essential to avenge in a sector such as technological startups. It is a work philosophy that many associate with the Silicon Valley ecosystem, but that is beginning to be concerned, even within the large US companies.
Europe follows another way
In Europe, the movement is different. Several countries have tested weeks of four days, reporting improvements in both productivity and workers’ well-being. In Portugal, some companies begin to explore this model, although still shyly and experimentally.
In Portugal, labor legislation continues to settle in a 40 -hour work week, although there are increasingly voices defending its reduction. The four-day-week pilot experience, promoted by the government in partnership with private entities, had positive results in several companies, with increases in workers’ satisfaction and maintenance of productivity.
Nevertheless, as required by models such as Daksh Gupta’s remaining far from national reality, where the balance between personal and professional life is, at least in theory, an increasingly defended value by both employers and workers.
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