RPG Group Chairman Harsh Goenka has voiced his concerns regarding the proposal of a 90-hour workweek, which was recently supported by L&T Chairman SN Subrahmanyan. Subrahmanyan had suggested that employees should work 90 hours per week, including Sundays, to stay competitive.
In a social media post on X (formerly Twitter), Goenka sarcastically responded to Subrahmanyan’s idea, saying, “90 hours a week? Why not rename Sunday to ‘Sun-duty’ and make ‘day off’ a mythical concept! 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! #WorkSmartNotSlave.”
Subrahmanyan made his controversial comments during a recent employee meeting, where he expressed support for L&T’s six-day work week policy. He also suggested that employees should work 90 hours per week, even implying they should forgo Sundays. “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. How long can you stare at your wife?” Subrahmanyan said in a video that circulated on Reddit.
His remarks have intensified the ongoing debate about work-life balance, a discussion sparked earlier by Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy’s proposal for a 70-hour work week. Subrahmanyan’s comments have reignited concerns about the pressure placed on employees in high-demand corporate settings, with critics arguing that such calls disregard employee well-being and work-life balance.
Adding fuel to the fire, reports of Subrahmanyan’s salary for FY 2024 have also attracted attention. According to the New Indian Express, Subrahmanyan earned a total salary of ₹51 crore in FY 2024, reflecting a 43.11% increase from the previous year. Breaking it down, his base salary for FY 2024 was ₹3.6 crore, with an additional ₹1.67 crore in prerequisites, ₹35.28 crore in commission, and ₹10.5 crore in retirement benefits.
This salary is notably high when compared to the median salary of L&T employees, which was ₹9.55 lakh in FY 2024. Subrahmanyan’s total compensation is 534.57 times greater than that of the median L&T employee.
The ongoing discussion highlights a growing divide between corporate expectations for long working hours and the increasing demand for work-life balance, especially amid rising concerns about employee burnout and well-being.