“It’s true that hard work never killed anybody, but I figure why take the chance.” The origin of this cheeky quote, often found on teenagers’ T-shirts, is at a Washington dinner in 1987. The self-deprecating quip came mid-speech from then-US President Ronald Reagan who was often targeted for being “lazy and lethargic” and loving his afternoon naps. It is not ageing well in a world where the toxic productivity treadmill is gathering speed. 

Unending work hours, the current default for hard work, are indeed killing people. Very young people. A 26-year-old chartered accountant employed with EY in Pune reportedly died from her workload earlier this week. Anna Augustine was just four months into her first job at the audit and consulting firm, one of the global Big Four.

‘She Kept Pushing Herself’

“She worked tirelessly at EY, giving her all to meet the demands placed on her. However, the workload, new environment, and long hours took a toll on her physically, emotionally, and mentally. She began experiencing anxiety, sleeplessness, and stress soon after joining, but she kept pushing herself, believing that hard work and perseverance were the keys to success,” Anna’s grieving mother Anita wrote in a letter to EY chief Rajiv Memani. She wrote how Anna’s managers dumped work on her at odd hours because they wanted to watch cricket matches. When she raised concerns about being unable to rest, she was told working nights was normal and that is what she should do. 

The modern rat race has ensured that working long hours is seen as a badge of honour. It is often normalised by leaders people look up to. Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes pride in barely sleeping because he works almost round the clock. Although the PM allows that such punishing workaholism is not for everyone, it inspires many to egg others on with his example at the peril of their health. Business tycoon Narayana Murthy believes young people should raise productivity and work harder, at least 70 hours a week. 

The argument here is not against hard, productive work. It is a cavill against the yardstick, which routinely is the number of hours and not the content of the job done. Never in human history have young white-collar workers toiled so relentlessly in service of corporate goals (read profits).

The Inescapable White-Collar Grind

Slave-driving employees was a managerial trait confined once upon a time to sweatshops and informal shop floors. But now white-collar grind is particularly overdone, especially in the finance and consulting sectors. Others such as law firms and even some non-profit foundations aren’t far behind. 

Outrage engulfed Wall Street in May when a 35-year-old Bank of America associate died after logging multiple 100-hour weeks. The banking industry already had work-hour restrictions, which were put in place a decade ago after a sleep-deprived intern died of a seizure. A Wall Street Journal investigation showed that “long hours and deference to bosses’ commands, no matter how unreasonable, are the norm industrywide”. Novice workers were always at the receiving end. 

Overwork and burnout risk have spread to unexpected fields. Elite footballers in Europe are contemplating a strike after more matches were added to their annual schedule. The warning came from Manchester City midfielder Rodri, who is expected to play as many as 75 games for club and country in the 2024-25 season. “It is too much,” Rodri was quoted as saying on Tuesday. “Not everything is about money or marketing. It is about the quality on show.”

Backbreaking Work, Everywhere

Club owners, regulators and broadcasters are naturally happy to add matches in pursuit of revenues and profits. That even superstar sportspersons feel the heat of organised greed says something. Financiers would see it as elevating productivity and sweating assets. But as Rodri quipped, “When I am not tired I perform better.” 

Back-breaking work in other areas that was hardly visible in public discourse is now in focus. Rising demand for maternity leave and benefits has put the spotlight on unpaid household work done by pregnant women, especially in tradition-bound villages. The setting may be different, but the work afflicted on household novices (read young brides) is similar to what Anna went through at EY.  

Greed At All Levels

There is no end to greed and it is stacked up from the supervisors at the lowest level, whose job it is to extract the most from their workers, all the way to the top of the food chain, the fat return-seekers who put up the dough. As Arun Maira, former chairman of BCG, argues here,” the social and business culture of greed for more wealth, in which they are all locked, will not be easy to change. But it must be changed to make the world better for everyone”. At the moment, it feels like wishful thinking. The pandemic-inspired introspection and debate around work, supervision, management, automation, lay-offs and living has fizzled out. Amazon, which cut 27,000 jobs in 2023, reverting to a five-day work-week perhaps is the tail end of pandemic-induced corporate forbearance. 

The pressure will only increase as artificial intelligence proliferates in the workplace. Human beings, whose productivity and quality of work depend on their physical and psychological state, will not be able to match always – on AI’s evenness and steady state. For companies, it eliminates the need to spend on maintaining the physical and psychological health of their workers. It’s cost-effective, productive, and more often than not, anti-human. So are certain managerial practices.

(Dinesh Narayanan is a Delhi-based journalist and author of ‘The RSS And The Making Of The Deep Nation’.)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author 

The BJP floundered in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. The floundering continued on the floor of both Houses where Members of Parliament from the INDIA parties delivered multiple speeches that were well-structured, well-executed, and rich in content. A recurring theme in many of these powerful interventions on the Budget was a 12-letter word giving Modi and his coalition sleepless Delhi nights: unemployment.

Article 41 of the Constitution states, “The State shall, within the limits of its economic capacity and development, make effective provision for securing the right to work, to education, and to public assistance in cases of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement, and in other cases of undeserved want.”

Employment And Food Insecurity

Many MPs in the Opposition quoted CMIE data about the employment rate – which is the ‘proportion of employed persons in the working age population’ – recorded at 37% in June 2024. The Global Hunger Index 2023 was often referred to last week in Parliament – India ranked 111th out of 125 countries. Despite improvements in food production and distribution, food insecurity persists, particularly in marginalised communities. 

Impact On Personal Freedoms

A citizen cannot truly enjoy any liberty when perpetually anxious about her family’s unmet needs. This becomes even more important when the Budget skirts around the issues of health, nutrition, social security, and education. It is difficult to think about personal liberties on an empty stomach. 

MGNREGA

MGNREGA addresses the issue of Right to Work. However, it ensures it as a statutory right, instead of being a Fundamental Right. The latter cannot be taken away by an amendment of the MGNREGA Act. It bears repetition that states have been constantly deprived of MGNREGA funds. The Union owes the West Bengal government alone Rs 7,000 Crores for the scheme. 

In a labour-surplus society, why then is the Union government often selling the family silver to private entities? Two dozen large Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) have been privatised. This is not the solution. Should it not be the duty of the state to offer the labour force multiple opportunities for employment? There are 30 lakh vacancies in the Union government and government-controlled organisations. What is the road map and timelines for these vacancies to be filled? Parliament is in session. The government must provide answers. 

Education And Skill Development

The Union has an obligation to provide quality education and skill development to improve employability, and guarantee livelihood. But Budget 2024 has allocated only Rs 1.20 lakh crore to education, which is a 2% decline from Actuals (Rs 1.23 lakh crores) in 2023-24. 

Right To Livelihood As A Fundamental Right 

Through judicial interpretation, the Right to Livelihood has been read into the Right to Life, even though it is not explicitly listed among the Fundamental Rights in Part III of the Constitution. The Supreme Court emphasised, “An equally important facet of the right to life is the right to livelihood because no person can live without the means of living, that is, the means of livelihood. If the right to livelihood is not treated as a part of the constitutional right to life, the easiest way of depriving a person of his right to life would be to deprive him of his means of livelihood to the point of abrogation. Such deprivation would not only strip life of its effective content and meaningfulness but also make life impossible to live.”

The Right to Work, outlined in the directive principles, has been interpreted alongside the Rights to Livelihood and Life, evolving into a Fundamental Right through judicial pronouncements. Integrating the Right to Work into Fundamental Rights, and ensuring that policies are designed to create sustainable job opportunities, is paramount to ensuring employment. Even after a tepid performance in the elections, where they were punished by young people, this government refuses to prioritise investment in education and vocational training. 

Only talk about cooperative federalism will not do. States politically opposed to the ruling dispensation are deprived on flimsy grounds for years of their MGNREGA funds. These are funds due to people who have completed their work, and have still not been paid.

Additionally, fostering a more inclusive job market by supporting small businesses and encouraging entrepreneurship can play a critical role in generating employment. By taking these steps, India can better align its economic policies with its constitutional commitments and provide more meaningful support to its citizens.

The Right to Work still requires the state to take responsibility, and appropriate legislative actions, to fully provide citizens with the Right to Life, Livelihood, and Dignity.

Research Credit: Chahat Mangtani

(Derek O’Brien, MP, leads the Trinamool Congress in the Rajya Sabha)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author