New Delhi:

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Head HR Sonica Muraleedharan defended Chairman SN Subrahmanyan after his remarks about wanting employees to work for 90 hours a week invoked a massive debate across the country. Amid the ongoing controversy that prompted responses from even celebrities, Ms Muraleedharan said that the chairman’s remarks were “misinterpreted” and taken out of context.

“It’s truly disheartening to see how the words of our MD & Chairman, SN Subrahmanyan (SNS) have been taken out of context, leading to misunderstandings and unnecessary criticism. Having been present during the internal address, I can confidently state that SNS never implied or mandated 90-hour work weeks,” she said in a post on LinkedIn.

According to the HR, Mr Subrahmanyan’s remarks were “casual in nature”.

Vouching for his leadership style, Ms Muraleedharan said, “He treats every employee as part of an extended family, fostering a sense of unity and belonging that’s rare in today’s corporate world”.

“SNS is, without question, a leader who genuinely cares for his team’s well-being. He consistently demonstrates an exceptional ability to balance his demanding professional commitments while creating a nurturing and empowering environment for his team. Working under his leadership has been more than just a job – it has been a transformative experience, akin to participating in a living masterclass on leadership, where every interaction imparts valuable life lessons,” she added.

Ms Muraleedharan further urged people to take a step back and fully understand the context and intent behind the L&T Chairman’s words.

“Leaders like SNS inspire positive change and growth, and it’s vital to recognize their efforts rather than misinterpret them. Instead of focusing on controversy, let’s celebrate and support leaders who empower, motivate, and elevate their teams, leaving a lasting, positive impact on the organization as a whole,” she said.

Mr Subrahmanyan sparked a huge outrage last week after he suggested employees should work 90 hours a week and even on Sundays to remain competitive.

“How long can you stare at your wife,” Mr Subrahmanyan is heard saying in a purported video address.

When he was asked why L&T required its employees to work on Saturdays, he 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 more happy, because I work on Sundays also.”

These comments drew sharp responses on social media, including from actor Deepika Padukone who said that it is “shocking to see people in such senior positions make such statements”. Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla, RPG Group Chairman Harsh Goenka, and Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra also mocked the 90-hour workweek idea.

Social media users also compared Mr Subrahmanyan to Infosys founder Narayana Murthy, who last year called for people to work for 70 hours a week.

It is a truth now universally acknowledged that a young man in possession of the misfortune of having a 50-hour work week must be in want of staring at his wife on Sundays. A leaked video group chat recently showed a CEO addressing his lesser humans, saying that they should work every day, even Sundays. Gen Zs and millennials, being the “snowflakes” they are, have obviously misunderstood his comment. The humble CEO only regretted that he couldn’t exploit his employees on weekends and that hampered their nation-building dreams. 

Everyone should want to have 90-hour work weeks (roughly 12.5 hours per day, if working seven days a week) for the nation. It’s absolutely not as if these CEOs are looking to increase their own profits. CEOs are so massively underpaid anyway. That’s another universally acknowledged truth. There isn’t an ounce of selfish interest here. 

So, here are seven ways to utilise your Sundays to be your best productive self. Before we begin, remember, the kids will try to misguide you into believing that humans deserve rest and relaxation. They will cite four-day workweeks in Japan or the ‘right to disconnect’ in France, where employers legally cannot trouble employees after work hours. But, don’t get swayed. The goal is to be productive every second of your life, till the day you die. You’re letting down humanity every moment you spend on rest, relaxation, family, hobbies, or (gasp) staring at your husband/wife.

1. Productive Visual Activities

Our film and TV industry works ceaselessly. No Sundays or Diwali or New Year for them. Writers write day and night, crews shoot for months, singers, actors, stunt artists, editors, and set staff, all slave it out for months. To support their hard work, you must, as a responsible citizen, binge-watch something on Sundays. Important: involve your husband/wife as well, so they are not doing any unproductive staring at you. Do it for the country. 

2. Productive Social Work

Man is a social animal. Sorry, that was too gendered. Humans are social animals. So, it is our responsibility as productive humans to give back to our fellow humans. Take your friends to a local watering hole, indulge in local drinks and food, ensure local businesses thrive, and play your role in improving our economy. After a fun evening of rest, relaxation and inebriation, most people will forget about all their problems at work and return to work on Monday for a 14-hour shift voluntarily. Take your husband/wife along as well but ensure they’re not staring at you.

3. Productive Physical Activity

This one is obvious; unless you are in the pink of your health, how will you live up to the 14-hour shift expectations? It is important to move, get those steps in, before Monday. And what faster way to get those steps in than walking around the malls or flea markets in your area? Additionally, what better way to spend a Sunday productively than shopping at local markets and helping the economy flourish? 

Ensure that your partner is with you so they can stare at the shopkeepers and their wares instead of lovingly staring at you (ew).

4. Productive Upskilling

It’s the age of hustle. We shouldn’t be wasting any waking moment being unproductive. What better way to be productive than to upskill and get a Sunday job on top of your regular job? 

Watch a medical drama to start a hospital side business or a cooking show to become a hotelier! 

Whatever you do as your side hustle, make sure both you and your spouse are sitting on a cold, marble floor without any back support because comfort is anathema to success. And don’t forget to gloat on LinkedIn about it. 

5. Productive Self-Education 

You are never too old to educate yourself. Perhaps we can go a bit old school for this one and utilise some ancient instruments, called books. To learn about ancient cultures and lost civilisations, I suggest A Song Of Ice And Fire and Lord Of The Rings. For Physics and science, Dark Matter, The Martian, Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy and anything by Isaac Asimov, Arthur C Clarke or Michael Crichton. For world politics, try Ian Fleming or Graham Greene. The world is your oyster if only you stop being so unproductive by spending 24 hours staring at your wife. Seriously, why do you even want to look at her? Spouses are not meant to spend time together. That’s the enemy of nation-building. 

6. Get Influenced By CEOs

The CEO clan is extremely focused on creativity and productivity. The reason why a plebian like myself or you is not sitting in a bathtub full of cash is because we are unmoved, unmotivated, and lazy. We spend our free time doing needless things like laundry, cleaning the house, washing the dishes. Learn from the CEOs. Like that one Indian-origin man who understands that his time—valued at $5,000 an hour, by himself—is too precious to do dishes.

Now, now. There will be some kids from these snowflake generations who may point out that the wealthy can obviously afford help of all kinds. They will also tell you that not everyone gets 24 hours a day to themselves. A CEO, for example, can afford to work 90 hours a week because he doesn’t have to suffer household chores. He effectively gets more work hours than the average Jane and Joe. In any case, an average Joe is also getting more time to himself than an average Jane. Let’s not get into that though. Ignore the ‘woke’ mobs. Instead of staring at your spouse, make sure they are doing unpaid labour for 32 hours a day, handling the house, doing laundry, cleaning, cooking, feeding and raising the children—all of it without a break or appreciation. 

7. Productive 

We spoke about physical health, improving the economy, and nation-building. But let’s be honest, only a sound and healthy mind can shoulder these humongous responsibilities. The 90-hour workweek will tire out those little grey cells in little people. Here’s how to ‘Think Big’.

Stop caring. Empathy and compassion are draining for you mentally. Hunger and poverty makes you sad? Climate change killing your hopes for the future? A family member is sick? A coworker died (learn from the Amazon warehouse in Colorado that simply ignored the dead body on the floor)? Who cares. Focus on that spreadsheet, PPT, charts and graphics on your screen that will make your boss millions of buckaroos instead.

Pay no attention to those ‘relaxing weekend ideas’ to try out with your partner. This is not some utopian civilisation built on humans and culture. Here, we remove the human from humanity to ensure only money matters in the end. 

(The author is Assistant Producer, NDTV)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author

After facing strong backlash over its Chairman SN Subrahmanyan’s suggestion to employees to work 90 hours a week — including Sundays, the L&T said on Friday that the Chairman’s remarks reflect the larger ambition of nation-building, “emphasising that extraordinary outcomes require extraordinary effort”.

In a video message to employees that went viral on social media, Mr Subrahmanyan said: “What do you do sitting at home? How long can you stare at your wife? How long can wives stare at their husbands? Go to the office and start working”.

“Honestly, I am sorry that I am not able to make you work on Sundays. I will be happier if I can make you work on Sundays, because I work on Sundays too,” said the L&T Chairman.

A company spokesperson said in a statement that for over eight decades, “we have been shaping India’s infrastructure, industries, and technological capabilities”.

“We believe this is India’s decade, a time demanding collective dedication and effort to drive progress and realise our shared vision of becoming a developed nation,” said the spokesperson.

“The Chairman’s remarks reflect this larger ambition, emphasising that extraordinary outcomes require extraordinary effort. At L&T, we remain committed to fostering a culture where passion, purpose, and performance drive us forward,” the spokesperson further stated.

In his video message, Mr Subrahmanyan encouraged L&T employees to work harder. He spoke about a conversation he had with a Chinese man who said that China could overtake the US because of its strong work ethic.

According to Mr Subrahmanyan, the Chinese man said, “Chinese people work 90 hours a week, while Americans work only 50 hours a week.”

The video received a backlash from netizens on social media platforms, including online discussion forum Reddit, with many users comparing it to Infosys founder Murthy’s statement about working 70 hours a day.

From Bollywood superstar Deepika Padukone to Harsh Goenka, Chairperson of the RPG Group, top celebrities also condemned Mr Subrahmanyan’s remarks.

“90 hours a week? Why not rename Sunday to ‘Sun-duty’ and make ‘day off’ a mythical concept! Working hard and smart is what I believe in, but turning life into a perpetual office shift? That’s a recipe for burnout, not success. Work-life balance isn’t optional, it’s essential. Well, that’s my view! #WorkSmartNotSlave,” Mr Goenka posted on X.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)