First Japanese female PM Sanae Takaichi rejects work-life balance in her first speech: From Shah Rukh Khan to Elon Musk, 6 successful people who think like her

Sanae Takaichi made history recently by becoming the first-ever Japanese woman female Prime Minister. Takaichi, 64, officially assumed office on October 21, succeeding Shigeru Ishiba to lead a minority government. In her first address to members of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Takaichi emphasised the value of relentless dedication and perseverance, rejecting the modern notion of work-life balance. “I will keep my promises. We can only rebuild by reuniting every generation and with everybody's participation. Because there are only a few of us, I ask everybody to work; Work like a horse. I myself will cast aside the idea of work-life balance. I'll work, work, work, work, and work,” Sanae Takaichi said, as per ANI.

Through this, she asserted that true progress and national strength come through discipline and hard work, signaling a return to Japan’s traditional work ethic and a strong commitment to economic revival.

Over the past few months, there has been increasing talks and debates about work-life balance and how much is too much work. While some people have been pushing for better work-life balance, there are some successful people-- like Sanae Takaichi-- who reject this idea and instead believe that there's no substitute for hardwork. Here we list some such people, why they do not agree about having work-life balance, and what they do instead to be successful:

Photo: Tsuyoshi Ueda/Kyodo News via AP

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan (SRK) seems to have it all-- fame, appreciation, wealth, etc. However, success didn't come easy for SRK, as the self-made actor once famously remark, “Aaram haraam hai” (which literally translates to rest is a sin). In 2022 interview, SRK told Aaj Tak about the huge sacrifices he made-- be it his personal life or rest-- to be successful in his career. “If you want to be successful, don’t eat, don’t sleep, don’t rest, do not relax,” he shared his success mantra in the interview.

Indian-American business professional and former CEO of Pepsi Co, Indra Nooyi is often praised for her extraordinary journey. However, her hardwork and determination has often been Nooyi's mantras for success. A clip from her old interview recently went viral again on social media, wherein Nooyi says that having perfect work-life balance is a myth; instead, it's juggling priorities that she truly believes in. "I tell them there is nothing called balance. It doesn't exist. At best, you can juggle all these priorities," she said.

Talking about prioritising the right things at the right time being her mantra for success-- be it in personal or professional life--, Nooyi shared an anecdote from her life in the video. She said that when her children were young, she once got a call from her younger daughter saying that she had to bring chocolate chip cookies for her class that morning. However, the dilemma that Nooyi faced was-- she had forgotten about this meeting, and that she neither knew or had time to bake the cookies. So instead of panicking or skipping the class meeting for her daughter, Nooyi called up her office cafeteria and asked them to arrange homemade cookies in 40 minutes. When they arrived, she quickly wrapped them in foil paper, so that they don't look professional, and she went to her daughter's class. The cookies turned out to be good, everyone was happy, and her daughter felt like a hero. "But you see, I juggled priorities. Did I balance them? No, I didn't schedule time to bake cookies, because I just didn't have the time. Women already are super people, OK! Because they somehow make it all work. But anybody who uses the word balance is crazy," Nooyi said in the interview. Do you agree too?

Amazon founder and one of the top richest people in the world, Jeff Bezos is known for rejecting the the idea of work vs. life and instead has spoke about the need for having work-life harmony. According to this idea, work-life harmony is all about having a professional and personal life which can support each other, instead of being in conflict.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk, has often made headlines for his eccentric life choices-- be it personal or professional. In the past, he has also advocated for having extreme work hours. In fact, Musk has said that those who want to achieve greatness in life should put in (at least) 80 to 100 hours per week. “There are way easier places to work, but nobody ever changed the world on 40 hours a week," he once tweeted in 2018, giving a glimpse of his views on the whole work-life balance debate.

Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy has often advocated the need to have a 70-hour work week, which stirred quite a controversy in the past. Talking about the need to have a 70-hour work week, Murthy once said that it is essential for India's overall progress. Citing his own example, he once said, “Throughout my life, I worked over 14 hours daily for six and a half days a week... If we want India to compete globally, Indians must be ready to work hard. Even the most intelligent individuals cannot achieve success without consistent effort."
What are your views on the ongoing debate about work-life balance? Tell us about it in the comments section below.

The Chinese billionaire and Alibaba co-founder, Jack Ma, is known for agreeing with and promoting China's long and gruelling working hours. In 2019, he argued for a 9am to 9pm working day, and a six-day week-- which is also called the "996" work schedule. Defending it, Jack Ma called it a "huge blessing" for young workers who wish to be successful in life. While he later suggested a future where AI could lead to shorter workweeks, at the time he defended the 12-hour days as necessary for growth and dismissed those who expected a typical 8-hour work lifestyle. His remarks on the need for long working hours has sparked debates on the need for work-life balance, with many critics arguing that the long hours were unsustainable and harmful in the long run for people.

Billionaire entrepreneur and former Shark Tank star, Mark Cuban is known for insisting that there is "no balance" for those committed to being successful in life. He believes that anyone who wants to "crush the game" must accept that someone else is always working to "kick your ass".Image: Getty Images