'Shocking': Deepika Padukone on L&T chief’s call for seven-day workweek

Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone has criticised L&T Chairman & MD SN Subrahmanyam's recent remarks, in which he seems to suggest that L&T employees should not only work from Mondays to Saturdays but Sundays as well. A recent video of Subrahmanyam conducting a Q&A session during his New Year address has gone viral, in which he's advocating for a "seven-day" workweek. "I regret I am not able to make you work on Sundays… because I work on Sundays too.”

He was asked why L&T is still making its employees work on Saturdays even after being one of the largest conglomerates and the face of India's business world.

Answering the question, he goes on to say: "What do you do sitting at home (on Sundays)? How long can stare at your wives, how long can wives stare at their husbands, come on, get to the office and start working."

As the comments from one of India's largest engineering and construction majors went viral on social media, Padukone, who's a staunch advocate of mental well-being and actively spreads awareness on mental health issues, said it was "shocking to see people in such senior positions make such statements. #mentalhealthmatters".

Comments from the L&T chief come amid a heated debate on work-life balance, with the likes of Infosys co-founder N Narayana Murthy advocating for 70 hours a week.

In an interview with Infosys' former chief financial officer Mohandas Pai, Murthy recently said India would not be able to compete with countries that have made tremendous progress without improving productivity levels.

“India's work productivity is one of the lowest in the world. Unless we improve our work productivity, we will not be able to compete with those countries that have made tremendous progress. So, therefore, my request is that our youngsters must say, 'This is my country. I'd like to work 70 hours a week,’” Murthy said.

In November 2024, during a TV interview with CNBC TV18, Murthy reiterated his belief in the 70-hour workweek and dismissed the concept of work-life balance. “I don't believe in work-life balance… I have not changed my view; I will take this with me to my grave,” he said.

He also expressed dissatisfaction with the shift from a six-day workweek to a five-day workweek in the 1990s. "I think in this country, we have to work very hard because there is no substitute for hard work, even if you're the most intelligent guy,” he said.

Murthy recounted that during his Infosys days, he used to work 14 hours every day, 6.5 days a week until he retired.

Some people, however, do not subscribe to such views. Zoho Corporation's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sridhar Vembu recently said the "70-hour work week" debate is not worth it if such a culture leads to demographic decline. Vembu has argued that it's acceptable for most of the population to focus on "work-life balance," while a small percentage drives themselves hard. He points out that the extreme work culture in East Asian countries has come at the cost of "low birth rates," and now their governments are urging people to have more children. He asserts that development is possible without working to the point of "demographic suicide."

On December 23, 2024, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram said via X that "working longer is meaningless; the focus should be on efficiency." He went on to advocate for a 4-day workweek, from noon on Monday to 2 pm on Friday. "Daily life is, as it is, a struggle, battling inefficient and substandard infrastructure and amenities. Work-life balance is most important for good social order and harmony," Chidambaram said.