‘If You Don’t Enjoy What You’re Doing, Time To Do Something Different’: World Bank’s Ajay Banga On Work-Life Balance

The concept of work-life balance continues to spark debate, with some advocating for strict separation between personal and professional spheres, while others propose a more flexible approach. In a resurfaced video, World Bank President Ajay Banga, former CEO of Mastercard, was seen sharing his thoughts on striking a balance. “While some individuals feel balanced working 12-18 hours daily, others struggle with more than six hours. Ultimately, defining balance is a deeply individual task. I don’t know how you define it for yourself’”, he said.

Among the recommendations Banga gave was the importance of looking for happiness in one’s work or career. He said, “If you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, it’s time to do something different”.

He pondered on hard work suggesting that it must be complemented by satisfaction, wondering, “If you’re not going to enjoy what you’re doing when you travel, why the hell are you doing it?”.

The second aspect whereby Banga placed much emphasis is personal and family time. He gave examples of personal anecdotes about having to turn down parties and events and even rebooking tickets home to attend family events during his time at Citigroup Asia. He was quite right with this statement, “You’ve got to provide time for their play… because it’s important to them”.

However, there are problems associated with mobile communication that Banga also mentioned – the interference factor. He complained about how the use of technology hinders meaningful relationships, saying, “You’re not spending time with the people you’re with; you’re spending time with the instrument”. Despite recognizing its advantages, he urged people to refrain from taking their gadgets with them at their leisure, insisting that it is high time to set limits to preserve work-life balance.

A user commented on the video stating, “It’s a much simpler equation in fact. 8 hours of sleep, 8 hours of work and 8 hours of personal space. You are going to eat into one of these buckets if you apportion a greater one into another.”

A user highlighted, “Worklife balance when you’re single vs when you have family are very different.”

Others pointed out that Banga is a CEO and that his viewpoint became “irrelevant” the minute he held himself up as an example. The reason for this is that individuals are unable to select what they want to do; instead, they are compelled to do whatever comes up.

Work-life balance discussions in India have gained significant attention after Infosys co-founder Narayan Murthy’s 70-hour workweek comment.