 "12 hours at the job? Is India mulling increasing working hours to 70 or 90 per week?")
India has the world’s one of the largest workforce.
But it is also a country that views putting in greater hours at work as an indication of productivity.
Despite the negative health effects, there have been widespread calls to increase the maximum working hours.
The Centre has finally responded to such proposals. Let’s take a closer look.
No plans to increase working hours
On Monday, the government told Parliament in a written reply to the Lok Sabha that it is not considering any proposal to increase the maximum working hours.
Minister of State for Labour and Employment Shobha Karandlaje said, “No such proposal to increase the maximum working hours to 70 or 90 hours a week is under consideration of the government.”
Currently, the average working hours in the country are 46.7 per week, as per the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
She informed the House that labour being a subject under the Concurrent List, the enforcement of labour laws is done by state governments and the central government in their respective jurisdictions.
Labour laws were designed to protect workers and ensure fair treatment in the workplace.
While in the central sphere, the enforcement is done through the inspecting officers of the Central Industrial Relations Machinery (CIRM), the compliance in the states is ensured through their labour enforcement machineries, she added.
As per the existing labour laws, working conditions, including working hours and overtime, are regulated through the provisions of the Factories Act 1948 and the Shops and Establishments Acts of the respective state governments.
Most of the establishments, including the corporate sector, are governed by the Shops and Establishments Act.
The debate
The response comes as the country stays divided on longer working hours.
Weeks earlier, Larsen and Toubro Ltd (L&T) Chairman and Managing Director SN Subrahmanyan sparked an intense debate on social media , by saying employees should work 90 hours a week, including on Sundays, rather than just sit at home. His remarks reiterated Infosys Co-founder Narayana Murthy’s suggestion of a 70-hour workweek.
However, Subrahmanyan drew massive criticism from his peers in the business community.
RPG Group Chairman Harsh Goenka said longer working hours was a recipe for burnout and not success.
Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra also asserted that the focus should be on the quality of work and productivity rather than the amount of time spent working.
Severin Hacker, Duolingo’s co-founder, said, “I just don’t believe that you can work 80 hours a week over years. It doesn’t work. I think you will burnout. So, we have to scale down at some point. And, I think that’s the right thing. You want to build a sustainable company, you want to build a sustainable work culture, and that is something much more reasonable, like 40-50 hours a week.”
Similarly, ITC Ltd Chairman Sanjiv Puri stated that empowering employees to realise their potential and accomplish their jobs well was more important than the number of hours put in.
According to India Today, India is among the top countries with the highest number of deaths caused by overtime at work.
In September 2024, a young Ernst and Young India consultant passed away due to overwhelming work-related pressure. The incident triggered widespread debates on the working hours across the country.
Also read: Why EY is under spotlight after death of ‘overworked’ 26-year-old Pune employee
‘Detrimental to mental well-being’
The adverse health effects of longer working hours were highlighted in the pre-Budget Economic Survey released on Friday (January 31).
The survey noted that spending long hours at a desk was detrimental to mental well-being.
“While the hours spent at work are informally considered a measure of productivity, a previous study has documented adverse health effects when hours exceed 55-60 per week,” the survey said, citing findings by Pega F Nafradi B (2021) and A systematic analysis from the WHO/ILO Joint Estimates of the Work-related Burden of Disease and Injury.
“Individuals who spend 12 or more hours at a desk have distressed or struggling levels of mental well-being, with a mental well-being score approximately 100 points lower than those who spend less than or equal to two hours at a desk.”
According to the survey, a sense of purpose at work, a positive company culture, and solid relationships could all increase productivity and cut down on workday losses by two to three each month.
It added that absenteeism may rise due to strained management relationships and a lack of company pride.
Moreover, the growth and development of the country also depend on a focus on healthy work cultures and lifestyle choices.
According to a study by Venator Search Partners, long working hours lead to a demotivated workforce and higher attrition rates.
Also read: Australians can now legally ignore bosses after work hours, get 'right to disconnect'
Work cultures around the world
According to the Economic Survey, India stands with Germany, Vietnam, and the UK in terms of the average weekly working hours at the highest level of 48 hours.
With an average of 45 weekly working hours, Malaysia stood at the second spot, and Singapore in third, with an average of 44 hours per week.
Further, the USA, South Korea, Japan, and Indonesia are tied at 40 hours per week, according to the survey.
Working hours have been a topic of interest in many countries, with several developed ones, the UK and Germany, experimenting with a four-day workweek.
China, where the so-called “996 culture” is prominent, also debates the work-life balance . The concept of 996 describes a punishing schedule of 9 am to 9 pm six days a week.
According to a study by time management expert Laura Vanderkam, employees who work 7.6 hours per day feel they have the most time.
This translates to a 38-hour workweek, which is similar to Denmark’s 37-hour official workweek.
With inputs from PTI
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