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Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Chairman S.N. Subrahmanyan has stirred a controversy with his comments suggesting employees should work 90 hours a week and even on Sundays to remain competitive. A video of his remarks, reportedly from an internal interaction, surfaced on Reddit, drawing criticism on the platform.
In the video, asked why L&T required its employees to work on Saturdays, Mr 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.”
Mr Subrahmanyan then questioned what employees gained from taking time off at home. He said, “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.”
L&T CMD and work life balance
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The L&T chief further shared an anecdote to justify his stance. He spoke of a conversation with a Chinese person who said that China could surpass the US because of the country's strong work ethic. According to Mr Subrahmanyan, the Chinese person said, “Chinese people work 90 hours a week, while Americans work only 50 hours a week.” Drawing a parallel, Mr Subrahmanyan encouraged L&T employees to follow a similar work regimen.
“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,” an HT report quoted him as saying.
The video quickly gained traction on Reddit, where Mr Subrahmanyan's comments were widely criticised. Many users compared his statements to Infosys founder Narayana Murthy's recent call for Indian youth to work 70-hour weeks.
“I work in L&T and had to sit through this entire thing, imagine our horror! We blame Narayan Murthy for the 70-hour work week,” wrote a user.
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“Another CEO promoting slavery shamelessly,” read another comment.
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Users also questioned why CEOs, who are highly paid and have different job pressures, expect the same level of commitment from lower-paid employees. “Why don't companies offer different types of working hours? What if a company had different options? 40 hours a week, 30 hours a week, 50 hours a week, 70 hours a week. More pay for more hours?” asked a user.
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Another user, expressing ire, wrote, “L&T is one of the worst when it comes to WLB and also pays peanuts. Even a tier one engineering graduate gets only 35k per month in hand after working for 6.5 days a week in some remote location devoid of even the basic facilities. During the first 12 months after joining, they only give 7 casual leaves. That means you can't even go home once. More than 90% of campus hires leave the organisation within the first 3 years. 50-60 per cent leave in the first year itself.”
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Mr Subrahmanyan's comments come at a time when mental health and work-life balance have become an important part of the discussion between employers and employees. In July 2024, the death of a 26-year-old Ernst & Young (EY) consultant brought attention to issues concerning work culture and job-related stress.