The human cost of India's corporate hustle

In circa 2025, an Indian corporate honcho has time-travelled to the distant past, where he would like to leave his workforce. It is a world order of sublime submission where slaving is productivity and glorifying it is reasonable. By inference, there is a thumbs down for any course correction of a toxic culture in keeping with contemporary sensibilities.

Larsen & Toubro Chairman S N Subrahmanyan’s comments that he would like his employees to work 90 hours a week, including Sunday — which he regrettably says they do not — are like a WWF wrestler flinging work-life balance vehemently out of the ring. He digs his heels in further. ‘How long can you stare at your wife?’ the chairman questions his employees. This is to a people for whom the grind begins as soon as they outgrow the cradle.

Like a possessed Indian parent who questions his child for doing anything other than studying, Infosys’s Narayana Murthy was the first prominent name to advocate for a 70-hour workweek. Comments by the latest entrant to the club are a cocktail of tone-deafness, misogyny and entitlement. When remarks like these come from the top is it any wonder that the country also struggles to shrug off its patriarchal tag?

In the ever-widening gap of wealth disparity, SN Subrahmanyan reportedly takes home 51 crore rupees a year, and the Times of India reports that his compensation is 500 times higher than that of a regular employee in the firm. Empathy, however, is priceless.

With the doctrine work is worship, Indians burn the midnight oil while the world outside does its thing like a movie playing in fast forward. They don’t have the luxury to do otherwise. Inside, but looking out, the Indian has learnt to adapt without a support system which is a rite of passage in developed countries.

The chairman’s remarks on ‘the wife’ are also laced with the self-imposed hierarchies of patriarchy which continue to be normalised through casual comments in the guise of humour. Indian women have been boxed in with clearly defined gender roles. There are probably several women working at L&T itself, but for the corporate chief, they are invisible.

Do longer hours mean more productivity? Most reports debunk the myth, and anecdotal evidence is no different. A Stanford University study found that more than 49 hours a week corresponded with a decline in productivity. Employee output drops steeply after 55 hours flags another research. With a 37-hour official work week, Denmark is one of the happiest countries in the world. Notably, L& T was cofounded by two Danish engineers.

Instead, by espousing a 12-hour workday a fire has been lit. Unfortunately, with a lean job market, employees will do it to keep their jobs or to fill vacancies. Incidentally, the social media furore over these remarks would have seen a lesser man, sacked or at least look within.

India is the hustling capital of the world. The unorganised sector has no daily timeline, and the reality show Survivor plays out ad nauseam in middle-class India. Parents cross oceans, leaving the familiar behind for their children to fulfil their own promises.

Others do so themselves. For every Sundar Pichai or Satya Nadella, there are countless, nameless Indians grinding in Silicon Valley. They are all children of chaos but bound by one non-negotiable mantra — hard work, a reason why the country is becoming a leading start-up hub.

Economic Times says Indian unicorns hit a $385 billion valuation in 2024. There is however a bigger price to pay. Last week a 45-year-old founder died of a cardiac arrest. This incident is not in isolation, in the past six months, six young start-up founders have tragically passed similarly.

At what cost?

Lifestyles have quickened, but the pandemic has shown us how to slow down and prioritise personal well-being. Workplaces have evolved into a hybrid, physical presence along with ample doses of work-from-home (WFH.) Stress management, good sleep and a healthy routine can coexist with talent and hard work.

In 2022, Belgium introduced a four-day workweek and the same year, the UAE adopted almost similar hours. Countries like Australia are experimenting and more than 150 companies in Germany have switched to shorter hours.

World over, people are looking for a balance to log off. But an anomalous Indian boss isn’t impressed with this altered reality. He needs to be reminded of the words of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, ‘Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.’