'Rename Sunday to Sun-duty, make day off a mythical concept', Harsh Goenka on L&T Chairman's 90-hour workweek comment
Responding to L&T Chairman SN Subrahmanyan's comments, Harsh Goenka said perpetual office shifts would only result in burnout and added that, in his view, work-life balance isn¡¯t optional but essential.
RPG Group Chairman Harsh Goenka has responded to the absurd comments made by Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Chairman SN Subrahmanyan calling for a 90-hour workweek. In a video that has gone viral, Subrahmanyan claimed that he regretted not being able to make people work on Sundays.
'Work-life balance in not optional'
Responding to Subrahmanyan's comments, Goenka said perpetual office shifts would only result in burnout and added that, in his view, work-life balance isn¡¯t optional but essential.
CREDIT: BCCL
"Working hard and smart is what I believe in, but turning life into a perpetual office shift? That¡¯s a recipe for burnout, not success. Work-life balance isn¡¯t optional, it¡¯s essential. Well, that¡¯s my view!" he wrote on social media.
L&T Chairman becomes latest boss to mock work-life balance
Subrahmanyan is the latest in a growing list of top executives in India who have made their desire to make their employees work more hours clear. Many also have rejected the idea of work-life balance and weekend offs for employees, calling them Western concepts.
CREDIT: BCCL
90-hour workweek
While the debate around this was initiated by Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy, who advocated for a 70-hour workweek, Subrahmanyan went one step further by claiming that people should work 90 hours a week.
In the viral video, Subrahmanyan said, "I regret I am not able to make you work on Sundays. If I can make you work on Sundays, I will be more happy, because I work on Sundays."
'Why spend time with family when you can work in office'
He also mocked people for spending time with their families, saying, ¡°What do you do sitting at home? How long can you stare at your wife? Come on, get to the office and start working.¡±
CREDIT: BCCL
L&T uses nationalism to defend Chairman
After his comments were widely criticised online, L&T issued a statement defending Subrahmanyan, saying his comments reflect the larger ambition of becoming a developed nation.
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Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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