New Delhi: Elon Musk, the owner of X (formely Twitter) has reignited the work-life balance debate with a bold twist. While the internet is criticising figures like Infosys co-founder Narayan Murthy and Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal for advocating extended working hours. Musk’s latest comments have taken the discussion to a whole new level which sparked fresh conversations on workplace culture.

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are championing a bold initiative under the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the Trump administration. Their idea? Rallying “high-IQ, small-government revolutionaries” to volunteer over 80 hours of work per week—completely unpaid.

We are very grateful to the thousands of Americans who have expressed interest in helping us at DOGE. We don’t need more part-time idea generators. We need super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting. If that’s…
— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) November 14, 2024

The official handle of the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) shared a post expressing gratitude to the thousands of Americans eager to contribute to its mission. Interestingly, the acronym “DOGE” might remind some of the iconic Shiba Inu meme that once ruled internet culture and even inspired the popular cryptocurrency, Dogecoin.

DOGE in its post outlined its expectations for ideal candidates. It’s not looking for part-time contributors but instead seeks high-IQ individuals ready to dedicate over 80 hours a week to “unglamorous cost-cutting” tasks. The post invites interested applicants to send their CVs via direct message. Adding to that, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will personally review the top 1 per cent of submissions. “If that’s you, DM this account with your CV,” the post reads.

In another post, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk described the work at DOGE as “tedious,” . He cautioned that it would come with no pay and plenty of challenges, including making enemies along the way. He highlighted Trump’s ambitious goal to shrink federal bureaucracy by a third and cut 2 trillion dollars in government spending and also acknowledged that these sweeping changes would bring temporary difficulties.

After his decisive victory over Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, President-elect Donald Trump wasted no time making bold moves. Among his first announcements was the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) which he described as the “Manhattan Project of our time.” The reference draws a parallel to the historic U.S.-led initiative that developed the world’s first nuclear bomb.

Trump stated that Musk and Ramaswamy would play a key role in helping his incoming administration overhaul government operations. Their efforts with DOGE aim to dismantle bureaucracy, reduce excessive regulations, eliminate wasteful spending, and reorganize federal agencies—steps Trump sees as vital to advancing the ‘Save America’ movement.