Some of the top Indian corporate titans have locked horns amid raging debate over a healthy work-life balance. The row started when Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Chairman SN Subrahmanyan recommended a 90-hour workweek, including working Sundays. "How long can you stare at your wife," Subrahmanyan was heard telling employees in a purported video address.

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Subrahmanyan’s outrageous call sparked a series of condemnations on social media, and now the debate has been joined by top Indian entrepreneurs.

Radhika Gupta

The CEO of Edelweiss Mutual Fund, Radhika Gupta, was among the first ones to respond to Subrahmanyan’s 90-hour workweek call. In a message posted on social media, she wrote, “I worked 100 hours a week for four months on my first project. Eighteen hours a day, with one day off, and I was miserable 90% of the time.”

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Also read: L&T Chairman SN Subrahmanyan's pay in FY24 was 535 times median employee salary

She added, “I cried in office bathrooms, ate chocolate cake at 2 a.m., and was hospitalized twice. Most importantly, I may have been at work for 100 hours, but I was not productive in those hours.”

In her message, she also criticised those who rewarded appearances over output. She also stressed why mental health and family responsibilities must not be overlooked in such discussions.

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Anand Mahindra

Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra also chimed in, arguing the focus required to be placed on quality of work and not quantity. “One can change the world in 10 hours,” he said.

Mahindra further added that he was active on social media not because he was lonely and he loved spending time with his wife.

Also read: 'Besides being misogynistic...': Indian leader Priyanka Chaturvedi slams L&T chief's 'work 90 hrs a week' remark

“My wife is wonderful. I love staring at her,” he quipped.

Adar Poonawalla

Reacting to Mahindra’s comments, Adar Poonawalla, the CEO of the Serum Institute of India, also stressed quality should always come before quantity.

In a post on X, he wrote, “Yes Anand Mahindra, even my wife thinks I am wonderful, she loves staring at me on Sundays.”

“Quality of work over quantity always.”

Several experts have joined the work-life balance debate over the past days. While most of them have opposed L&T chairman’s comments, some have supported the idea of longer working hours in the initial stages of their career.

(With inputs from agencies)