‘Why Not Rename Sunday To Sun-duty?’: Netizens Slam L&T Chief’s 90-Hour Work Week Proposal – News18

Last Updated:January 09, 2025, 8:52 PM IST

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Chairman SN Subrahmanyan faces criticism from netizens after suggesting that employees should work “90 hours a week”.

After Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy, the chairman of Larsen & Toubro SN Subrahmanyam is now going viral on social media after he suggested that employees must work “90 hours a week”. The video of Subrahmanyam drew sharp criticism from netizens after he defended L&T’s six-day workweek, lamenting the inability to make employees work seven days.

In the video, reportedly from an employee interaction, the L&T chairman can be heard jokingly saying, “What do you do sitting at home? How long can you stare at your wife?”

Further asking employees to spend less time at home and prioritise work, Subrahmanyan expressed regret that Sundays couldn’t also be mandated as working days. “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.”

Soon after Subrahmanyam’s comments went viral, a series of reactions came from social media users lambasting on the L&T chairman for his insensitivity towards employee’s work-life balance and their mental health.

Deepika Padukone and RPG Enterprises chairperson Harsh Goenka were among those who criticised Subramanyam’s remarks on making employees work on Sundays.

In a tweet, Goenka expressed his disagreement with the idea, stating, “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.”

Actor Deepika Padukone also on Thursday shared journalist Faye D’Souza’s post about the same and advocated for mental health. “Shocking to see people in such senior positions make such statements. #MentalHealthMatters,” she wrote on Instagram Stories.

Here’s How Social Media Reacted

Reacting on L&T chairman SN Subrahmanyam’s comments, a social media user said, “Sir 90 hrs also seems less. We should work 24/7, then these people will be satisfied.” Meanwhile, a reddit user wrote, “I work in L&T and had to sit through this entire thing, imagine our horror! We blame Narayan Murthy for the 70-hour work week.”

“Hey, just a question, why don’t companies offer different types of working hours? What if a company had different options? 40 hours a week, 30 hours a week, 50 hours a week, 70 hours a week. More pay for more hours?” read another comment.

Meanwhile, some users also questioned why CEOs, who are highly paid and have different job pressures, expect the same level of commitment from lower-paid employees.