Samajwadi Party chief and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has strongly opposed recent suggestions by corporate leaders advocating for a 90-hour workweek. He questioned whether such advice implies treating employees as machines rather than humans who value emotions and family time. Yadav emphasized that true economic progress should benefit everyone, not just a select few, and highlighted the importance of work-life balance and the quality of work over sheer quantity.
His remarks come in response to recent statements by prominent industrialists, including Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy, who suggested that young Indians should work 70 hours a week to boost national productivity. More recently, L&T Chairman SN Subrahmanyan further escalated the debate by advocating a 90-hour workweek, even suggesting that employees should give up Sundays for work.
Yadav condemned such proposals, arguing that they disregard employees' well-being and the importance of work-life balance. He emphasized that productivity is not merely about clocking excessive hours but about working wholeheartedly and efficiently.
Challenging these corporate leaders, Yadav urged them to reflect on their own experiences. He questioned whether those giving such advice had themselves adhered to such grueling work schedules in their youth and, if so, why the economy has not reached higher levels of progress.