‘I rarely stayed in office beyond six in the evening': Marico Chairman Harsh Mariwala on work-life balance

Marico Ltd. Chairman Harsh Mariwala said that what “matters most is efficiency and focus” rather than long hours at the office.

Harsh Mariwala on work-life balance

Mariwala stressed that work-life balance, not marathon workdays, was the foundation on which he built the fast-moving consumer goods company.

In a post on X, the entrepreneur remarked that balance “is not a modern idea” but something he adopted “from the very beginning” of his career.

Mariwala recalled his early years in the organisation, saying, “Even as I was building Marico, I rarely stayed in office beyond six in the evening. The evenings were always for myself.”

“Sometimes it was squash or golf, sometimes an hour in the gym, sometimes listening to Indian classical music while walking and often spending time with family,” he added.

“I often carried papers home and spent time on them before dinner. My commute became my office on the move, a time for reading or making calls,” he said, adding that once he left the office, “I shifted the context but kept the discipline.”

He further explained that this “rhythm” helped him “sustain energy over decades.”

“Many assume that longer hours lead to greater output. In truth, what matters most is efficiency and focus,” the Marico chairman said.

He ended his post, saying, “Plan your day well, delegate and empower to good talent and identify what deserves attention and pursue it with intensity.”

Who is Harsh Mariwala?

Indian entrepreneur Harsh Mariwala is the founder and Chairman of Marico, a Fortune India 500 company from Gujarat. He is also the founder of Kaya Limited, a chain of skin care clinics across India and the Middle East, ASCENT Foundation, a non-profit peer-to-peer learning entrepreneurial platform, Marico Innovation Foundation, Mariwala Health Initiative, and Sharp Ventures, which serves as his family office.

Work-life balance debate goes on

Though industry leaders like Narayana Murthy and Bhavish Aggarwal advocate a 70-hour workweek, the  Marico chairman, however, stood for a work-life balance.

Also read: “Rumours, narratives, expert comments, sab chal raha hai. For now, I am just sitting back enjoying the show” says boAt Co-founder Aman Gupta (startuppedia.in)