We are back to that time of the year when a man who earns Rs 51 crore tells the rest of us that we need to work harder. At least once a quarter, India’s business leaders poke their heads out of their luxurious offices, and scold us into believing that a 40-hour work week represents the very pinnacle of laziness.
This time, it was the turn of the chairman of L&T, SN Subrahmanyan, to tell his colleagues—who earn 535 times less than him—that they need to work 90-hour weeks. On an internal call that was later made public, Subrahmanyan also wondered aloud what people do with their time at home. “How long can you stare at your wife or husband?” he asked, because apparently, the purpose of human existence is to generate quarterly profits for shareholders.
The breathtaking combination of patriarchal condescension and capitalist exploitation would make the zamindars of feudal India blush. Naturally, corporate India’s workforce – already stretched thin between endless Teams meetings and “Do you have time to jump on a quick call” messages – responded with the derision these comments deserved. The internet turned Subrahmanyan’s words into memes faster than you can say “toxic work culture”.
India’s most respected business leaders and start-up founders have made a habit of displaying just how deeply disconnected they are from the realities of working people’s lives. Subrahmanyan is hardly the only culprit. Just months ago, Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy prescribed a 70-hour work week as the cure for India’s productivity challenges. While the rest of India ridiculed that view, Murthy drew support from Bhavish Aggarwal, the founder of Ola, who labelled work-life balance a western concept.
Here’s what I find most fascinating about these periodic sermons from India’s business elite. Not once do they mention overtime pay for these extra hours. Not once do they discuss additional benefits or support systems for workers who are expected to sacrifice their personal lives at the altar of corporate growth. Instead, they wrap their demands in the flag of patriotism, speaking of “India’s decade” and “nation building” as if working people into the ground is somehow serving the country.
The outrage that we’re witnessing from India’s professional class is entirely justified. A 90-hour work week is a blueprint for collective burnout packaged as ambition. Overnight, dozens of people are speaking the language of Marxism. Still, this moment of solidarity and empathy among urban professionals goes only as far as a corporate boardroom. It does not extend to our homes, and the workers who toil to run it for us….
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After the truth-shower 