Does India need a ‘right to disconnect’ law for better work-life balance?

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Indians work some of the longest hours in a week globally. Unsurprisingly, therefore, Indian employees also report high levels of burnout.

Yet our productivity is among the lowest worldwide even as digital connectivity has expanded work hours. While Infosys founder Narayana Murthy insists that Indians should work more than 70 hours a week (labour laws cap it at 48 hours) for “nation building", Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule has introduced the Right to Disconnect Bill 2025 in the winter session of Parliament, which seeks to empower employees to decline work-related calls or messages outside their scheduled work hours. Since the bill was introduced by an opposition MP, it may not have the votes required for approval, but it has certainly put the spotlight on workers’ health.

Mint examines what different surveys and reports show about India’s work-life balance. Indians worked more than 45 hours a week on average in 2024 — the ninth highest globally, according to the International Labour Organization. But in terms of productivity, India delivered an output of $10.8 per hour, one of the lowest globally and the second-lowest among emerging economies.

The problem is rooted in outdated skills, widespread informality, uneven job opportunities beyond big cities, and health issues caused by exploitative work cultures— factors that collectively erode cognitive performance and motivation. Data from the ILO shows that advanced economies tend to achieve higher productivity while working fewer hours per week. Take Switzerland, for example.