While the debate over the ideal workweek has been ongoing for decades, it has intensified over the last few months. In 2023, Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy‘s statement about the need for India’s work culture to change, and for youngsters to be prepared to work 70-hours per week sparked a controversy and much debate online. Many people criticised Murthy for his old-fashioned thoughts and spoke about the need for work-life balance, some others even supported him for his views. A few months later, the news of a 26-year-old EY employee’s death allegedly due to over-work brought the work-life debate to the forefront again. Anna Sebastian Perayil’s death sparked outrage and a nationwide discussion of working conditions and increased stress– which could indeed be fatal for some.
The debate about work-life balance was stirred up again in 2024 when Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Chairman S.N. Subrahmanyan commented about 90-hour office-weeks. Subrahmanyan had suggested that employees should work 90 hours per week including Sundays, and his remark went viral on social media. In a meeting, when an employee had asked him why they were expected to work on Saturdays, Subrahmanyan had said, “I regret I am not able to make you work on Sundays, to be honest. If I can make you work on Sundays, I will be happier because I work on Sundays too.” What added more fuel to the fire was Subrahmanyan’s remark, “What do you do sitting at home? How long can you stare at your wife?”. Man perceived this as a misogynist remark which further irked people, and Subrahmanyan’s comment soon became a topic for national debates.
Add to it, billionaire Elon Musk‘s recent post on X wherein he shared that people at DOGE work 17 hours a day, seven days a week, or 24-hour shifts for five days– which makes it a whopping 120-hours per week.
For the unversed, traditionally 40-hour workweek is established as the standard working hours in many countries. While modern work culture has evolved to accommodate various work schedules– from part-time flex schedules to intense 70 or even 90-hour workweeks– many people have questioned if longer working hours really lead to greater productivity and career advancement thus, highlighting the need for work-life balance and employee well-being. This makes one question– What is the ideal workweek? Is work-life balance a myth or the need of the hour?
Countries with longest workweeks: Where does India stand?
As per data shared by the International Labour Organization (ILO) as of January 11, 2024, the top five countries with the highest workweeks are:
1. Bhutan
Despite having a population of only 7 lakhs, people in Bhutan top the chart with the most amount of working hours in the world which is roughly 54.4 hours!
2. UAE
Next on the list is the United Arab Emirates where employees work for 50.9 hours per week to drive their economy.
3. Lesotho
In Lesotho, people work for 50.4 hours every week.
4. Congo
At number four we have Congo, where employees work for 48.6 hours per week.
5. Qatar
In Qatar, employees have an average work week of 48 hours.
Meanwhile, in India, people work for 46.7 hours every week on average as per the ILO report. The data also revealed that 51% of India’s employees work 49 hours or more per week– thus making India the second country in the world to have extended working hours. The first country is Bhutan, where 61 per cent of people work for over 49 hours per week!
On the contrary, some of the leading economies in the world have a much lower workweek for their employees. For example: In the US, the average workweek is 38 hours; China’s average workweek is 46.1 hours; Japan’s average workweek is 36.6 hours; and UK’s average workweek is 35.9 hours.
The perils of excessive time at work
In the long run, spending too much time at work regularly can have many ill-effects on employees. Increased work stress is often associated with health issues like heart disease, obesity, and sleep disorders. Some reports also suggest that after 50 hours per week, people’s productivity starts to decline which makes the extra hours counterproductive. Talking of one’s personal life and relationships, spending excessive time at work can also lead to isolation from family, friends, and social activities.
Work smart or work hard: What experts say
In an earlier interview with international bestselling author and leadership expert, Robin Sharma, we asked him about his views on Narayana Murthy’s 70-hours workweek which had caused much controversy. Sharing his viewpoint, Sharma said that he didn’t believe in the hustle-and-grind culture and instead urged people to work wisely.
Robin had told us in the interview, “I’m not a subscriber to the hustle and grind culture. In ‘The 5am Club’ there’s actually a model called the twin cycles of elite performance. And what I believe is when you work you should work intensely, swiftly, deeply. And that’s the high excellence cycle. But after that the key to longevity as a performer is recovery. And so, if all we’re doing is working we’re actually depleting our mental focus, our creativity and our productivity. As a matter of fact, the hustle and grind culture comes from the factory era. If we worked longer on the factory we’d be more productive, we’d make more widgets. But we live now in the intellectual era, the cognitive era, the information era, the digital age! And so I believe, just my personal opinion, it’s not about how long you work, it’s about how intensely, intelligently and wisely you work. And if you really want to have a long career without burning out then I think recovery is very important.”
He further added, “So, of course, hard work does have a bad name these days and I think hard work is really important. You can’t build a great company or a great team without hard work. Look at the great artists– hard workers. But if you really want to be super productive, get really good at resting, be a professional sleeper, enjoy time with your family as well, so you don’t lose the sparkle in your eye and then you come back to work and you’re fresh and you do better work.”
More recently, we also had the opportunity to interact with bestselling author and motivational speaker Shiv Khera on his views on the ongoing work-life balance debate and the need for work-life balance. Sharing his views, Khera exclusively told us, “Only in an ideal world you can have work-life balance. Otherwise, we keep looking for it, and keep striving for it but are unable to achieve it. I have not achieved it! And people who have worked any length of time, anywhere, have not achieved it either. Look, there are so many start-ups in India. Any business that starts up it needs extra time and extra work. All the start-ups today, they put in 14, 16, even 18 hours per day. Is that balanced? No, it is imbalanced. But, if you have a family member lying in the hospital, you neglect the work and put in 14, 16, or even 18 hours per day to look after them. Is that balanced? No, now you neglected the work. So, one way or the other, it comes down to priorities. At this time, my priority is to build my business for my family. I am not alone, I’m not selfish. If I build it, my family will grow. Otherwise, how the hell am I going to feed my family? It doesn’t work like this… So we need to be very clear. Eventually, we work on priorities and sometimes it leads to imbalance too. But our objective is– You keep striving for it.”
Khera further highlighted how working hard has got a bad name these days. However, one needs to not only work smart but also hard to be successful in life. He added, “At the same time, there are people who don’t even want to work. They say they are patient; (but) they are lazy and they hide behind such words. We see so much unemployment these days. At the same time, many companies don’t have enough employees– they have vacancies but they can’t fill it. Roughly 90% of graduates are not employable to begin with right now. So, what does it tell you? It tells you that eventually, people have to work hard. Today people are totally brainwashed into a mess. They are being taught in business schools– ‘Don’t work hard, work smart’. But they don’t understand that that doesn’t exclude working hard. You have to work hard, and work smart– both! They only do selective listening, and it doesn’t work that way.”
Work-life fit: The need of the hour
When it comes to priorities and work-life balance, it can look different for everyone. For example, a stay-at-home parent might balance work and family by working while their child naps. For someone who is struggling with handling stress and their emotions, it would mean taking a step back from their professional duties and focusing on themselves. And so, comes the concept of “Work-life fit” which acknowledges that life is fluid and priorities can change. It’s about finding one’s own way to integrate work responsibilities and personal life priorities in a way that leads to both– professional success and personal well-being. Unlike the rigid idea of work-life balance which emphasises an equal division of time, work-life fit is more about being flexible and adjusting one’s schedules based on their unique needs and circumstances.
A strong work-life fit can help one have higher job satisfaction, improved mental health, and increased productivity. Employees who have the flexibility to manage their work around personal commitments— be it their family, hobbies, or self-care practices— tend to be more engaged and motivated.
Companies too can help their employees prioritise work-life fit by offering remote work, flexible hours, or hybrid work models– all of which will increase people’s loyalty, reduce stress, and improve their mental and overall well-being thus leading to more productivity at work. The idea is to make work and life coexist, without one overwhelming the other which can help employees lead to a more fulfilling and sustainable lifestyle.
