Chetan Bhagat Says 4 Hours Of Focused Work A Day Can Be Enough Amid AI Job Fears

Chetan Bhagat's comments come amid debate around changing workspace dynamics as artificial intelligence makes rapid strides.

05 Oct 2026, 05:56 · NDTV

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Chetan Bhagat excludes meetings and breaks from the four-hour focused work definition
Bhagat emphasises work quality over the total hours spent at the desk
His remarks contrast with calls for longer work hours by leaders like NR Narayana Murthy

How can employees minimize daily workplace interruptions?

The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) has not only changed workplace expectations (long hours and gruelling schedules) but also threatened jobs in various fields. Amid these talking points, author Chetan Bhagat has offered a contrarian view: Four hours of genuinely focused work a day can be enough. Bhagat made the remarks while speaking at the 18th edition of the Project Management South Asia Conference (PMSAC) in Bengaluru on October 3. He said the emphasis should be on the quality of work rather than the number of hours spent at a desk.

"I work 4 hours a day and that is enough if you do it with full dedication," Bhagat said at the event.

He clarified that his definition of a four-hour workday excludes the time often consumed by meetings, breaks and workplace interruptions. "If you genuinely do work for four hours in a day, that is enough, good enough," he said, adding that employees should "prioritise everything you put on the table" during those hours.

Bhagat's remarks come at a time when the traditional idea of a long working day is being questioned from another direction. The rapid adoption of AI has intensified concerns about automation, productivity and the future of white-collar jobs, with employees increasingly being asked to become more productive while adapting to technologies that can perform tasks previously done by humans.

The debate has also seen prominent Indian business leaders advocate longer working hours.

Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy had called for India's young workforce to work 70 hours a week, arguing that greater productivity was necessary for the country to become more competitive. Murthy later said that he himself had worked 70 hours a week for more than four decades and, when India followed a six-day working week, had worked 85-90 hours a week.

Bhagat, meanwhile, stressed on a different equation: Focus, prioritisation and personal well-being.

Asked about work-life balance at the Bengaluru event, he said people should focus on doing what makes them happy, referring to principles from his book '11 Rules for Life'.

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