'Corporate leaders have gone...': PM Modi's top advisor says only very senior managers can sustain 80-hour work week

Economist and writer Sanjeev Sanyal on Sunday slammed the notion of long working hours, calling it "silliness" and pointing out the hidden consequences of such corporate norms. In a sharp critique shared on X, Sanyal, who is also a member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, condemned the growing trend of 80-hour work weeks, particularly in American investment banks, stating, "Looks like the 80-hour work week thing has caught on. American investment banks want this as norm. As someone who has lived in that universe, let me say that corporate leaders have gone into silliness."

The debate surrounding long working hours resurfaced after Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Chairman SN Subrahmanyan suggested that employees should work 90 hours a week and even sacrifice Sundays. This comment was met with backlash, particularly his insensitive question, "How long can you stare at your wife?"

Sanyal, in his tweet, argued that enforcing an 80-hour work week as a "norm" creates problems in the workplace. "The reality is that enforcing this and maintaining quality suffers a moral hazard monitoring problem," he wrote. According to Sanyal, employees in environments with such demanding cultures often resort to personal activities during office hours, such as going to the gym, long lunches, or meeting friends under the guise of "meetings." He further pointed out that, “City of London and Wall Street runs like this,” where only a few "sincere souls" truly manage the grueling hours before burning out.

The economist also stressed that only very senior managers can endure such a workload due to the support systems in place. "Only very senior managers can sustain 80-hour work weeks because systems are built to sustain them (not just the pay but secretaries, assistants etc). The rest need a life," he added.

Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra weighed in on the debate, emphasising that the focus should be on the quality of work rather than the number of hours worked. Mahindra responded to Subrahmanyan's proposal by suggesting, “Let me not get this wrong, of course, but I have to say something. I think this debate is in the wrong direction because this debate is about the quantity of work.” He added that, even in 10 hours, one could "change the world."

While Mahindra stressed the importance of quality output, former HCL CEO Vineet Nayar offered a similar stance, claiming that the real issue lies not in how much one works but in how fully one lives. He criticised the glorification of long working hours, stating, "We glorify long hours, back-to-back meetings, and being always on. But an unlived life drains energy, creativity, and purpose."

This conversation around working hours gained momentum after Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy suggested in October 2023 that youth should be ready to work 70 hours a week to compete with global counterparts. He said India's work-culture needed a change if the country wanted to compete with countries like China and Japan. Murthy's remarks spurred debate, with many arguing that an excessive focus on long hours might undermine work-life balance and overall well-being.