Work, wife and weekend: What works for the Indian worker
SN Subrahmanyan has stirred a debate on social media on work-life balance with his advocacy of 90-hour work weeks. In an undated video, which has gone viral on social media. Subrahmanyan seemed to dismiss the value of time spent at home, saying, «What do you do sitting at home? How long can you stare at your wife? How long can the wives stare at their husbands? Get to the office and start working.» He was advocating for working Sundays.
During the recorded interaction, when questioned about mandatory Saturday work at L&T, Subrahmanyan said, «I regret I am not able to make you work on Sundays, to be honest. If I can make you work on Sundays, I will be more happy, because I work on Sundays also.»
Also Read: ‘How long can you stare at your wife?’: L&T chief advocates 90-hour work week
To support his position, the L&T chairman shared an interaction with a Chinese individual who attributed China's potential to overtake the US to their intensive work culture. According to Subrahmanyan, the Chinese person said, «Chinese people work 90 hours a week, while Americans work only 50 hours a week.» Building on this comparison, Subrahmanyan encouraged L&T staff to adopt similar working hours. He concluded by saying, «So that's the answer for you. If you have got to be on top of the world, you have to work 90 hours a week.» Subrahmanyan has come under social media backlash with users targeting him for not worrying about one's mental health and rather focusing on getting the work done. Industrialist Harsh Goenka took a dig at L&T
