PM [1]
Rank : Helper
Status : Super Owner
#1
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said the Department of Government Efficiency employees work 120 hours in a week, inviting criticism on social media.
The tech billionaire called working weekends a "superpower", adding that bureaucratic opponents are "losing so fat" because they work 40 hours a week. "Very few in the bureaucracy actually work the weekend, so it's like the opposing team just leaves the field for 2 days!" he wrote in another post on X.
A mix of reactions on the post ranged from one user calling him a "terrible boss", while another criticised the DOGE website for being empty despite employees putting in 120 hours in a week. Another user put down some figures that showed that of the employees take two days off in a week, they work 24 hours on all other days, "So... Doge in made up of aliens and robots and Elon! Or, Elon says anything to make himself look better," a user wrote on X.
Another user wrote that the number of work hours doesn't always translate to success. "It's the quality of those hours, the impact of decisions, and strategic thinking that ultimately determines who wins," the user wrote.
Many users also praised the DOGE work culture, adding that the department and Mr Musk are "heroes in the fight against the swamp". The user equated Mr Musk with Napoleon, adding that he possesses "genius intellect, dragon energy and prodigious work ethic".
Mr Musk, who was appointed by Trump to lead DOGE, has said that the department aims to root out inefficiency and corruption in the government. It is set to implement Trump's vision of a smaller, more efficient government by July 4 next year, the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Soon after the US election results became clearer, Mr Musk had invited applications for DOGE. He had said that he is looking for "super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries" willing to work over 80 hours a week on unglamorous cost-cutting tasks.
Mr Musk's remark on the number of hours or work in a week comes after a row over comments by L&T chairman SN Subrahmanyan and Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy. Strong backlash followed Subrahmanyan's suggestion to employees to work 90 hours a week, while Murthy's call for a 70-hour work week had also sparked a massive row.