No Proposal To Increase Working Hours To 70 Or 90 Hrs Per Week: Govt

The government on Monday told Parliament that it is not considering any proposal to increase the maximum working hours to 70 or 90 hours a week. Recently, some of the corporate leaders proposed to increase the maximum working hours to 70 and even 90 hours a week. "No such proposal to increase the maximum working hours to 70 or 90 hours a week is under consideration of the government," stated Minister of State for Labour & Employment Shobha Karandlaje in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

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. 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 stated.

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.

About the discourse over 70-90-hour work week, pre-Budget Economic Survey on Friday last had cited studies to state that spending over 60 hours a week on work could have adverse health effects. The survey noted that spending long hours at one's desk is detrimental to mental well-being, and individuals who spend 12 or more hours (per day) at a desk have distressed or struggling levels of 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'.

Citing data from a study done by Sapien Labs Centre for Human Brain and Mind, the economic survey, said, "Spending long hours at one's desk is equally detrimental to mental well-being. Individuals who spend 12 or more hours at a desk have distressed/ 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". Citing a study by WHO, the survey said globally, about 12 billion days are lost annually due to depression and anxiety, amounting to a financial loss of USD 1 trillion.

"In rupee terms, this translates to about Rs 7,000 per day," it noted. The take by the Economic Survey 2024-25 on work hour week had come weeks after Larsen & Toubro Ltd Chairman and Managing Director SN Subrahmanyan sparked off a raging debate on social media when he said employees should work 90-hour a week, including on Sundays rather than sit at home. He followed Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy's suggestion of a 70-hour workweek and Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani's "biwi bhaag jayegi (wife will run away)" remark if one spent more than eight hours at home. However, Subrahmanyan drew criticism from some 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. 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. The work-life balance debate echoes a similar one in China where the so-called '996 culture' - the three digits describe a punishing schedule of 9 am to 9 pm six days a week - is being hotly debated.

(PTI)