S N Subrahmanyan CMD Larsen and Toubro, has sparked intense debate with his proposal for a 90-hour workweek, drawing sharp criticism

S N Subrahmanyan, CMD of Larsen and Toubro, recently ignited a heated debate while expressing his regret over not being able to call employees to work even on Sundays. He also suggested a 90-hour work week—a figure that surpasses even the 70-hour work week advocated by Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy. His comment assumes added significance when there is already a renewed debate in India on work pressure after the death of 26-year-old Ernst & Young employee, Anna Sebastian Perayil. And call it a quirk of fate, or merely incidental, L&T has now eaten a humble pie after its bid for a tender to build six submarines was shot down by the Ministry of Defence.

Subrahmanyan’s comment has been singularly dismissed by several corporate chiefs, including Anand Mahindra, Chairman, of Mahindra Group; Sanjiv Puri, CMD, ITC Limited; Harsh Vardhan Goenka, the current chairman of RPG Enterprises; Nalin Negi, BharatPe CEO; Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director of Bajaj Auto; and even Sanjeev Sanyal, Economist Member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Economic Advisory Council. The circular issued by the Ministry of Labour and Employment of India, the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020, strictly says that no worker shall be required or allowed to work, in any establishment or class of establishments for more than eight hours in a day or forty-eight hours in a week.

As per the International Labour Organisation (ILO) as of January 11, 2024, the average weekly working hours per employed person across 10 of the world’s largest economies is in: the United States, 38 hours per week; in China, 46.1 hours per week; Germany, 34.2 hours per week; Japan 36.6 hours per week; India 46.7 hours per week; United Kingdom, 35.9 hours per week; France, 35.9 hours per week; Brazil, 39 hours per week; Italy, 36.3 hours per week; Canada, 32.1 hours per week. However, India ranks 13th among the world’s most overworked countries. With 46.7 average working hours per week, India faces a persistent culture of extended work schedules. The World Health Organisation also highlights excessive work as a major public health concern linked to occupational diseases.

According to the International Labour Organisation’s data, Luxembourg enjoys the highest productivity with $166.1k in terms of GDP per hour worked, with an average working week schedule of 35.6 hours. Ireland stands second with $139.1k GDP per hour worked with an average work-week schedule of 35.6 hours.

Whereas India has a labour productivity of $10.7k GDP per hour worked with an average work-week schedule of 46.7 hours.The latest report, by Mc Kinsey Health Institute says that investing in employee health can substantially increase economic returns.

Research by the Institute in collaboration with the World Economic Forum indicates that enhanced employee health and well-being could generate up to $11.7 trillion in global economic value.

(The writer is a journalist and news anchor and writes oncorporate affairs, finance; views expressed are personal)