– Priyan R Naik
L&T’s CMD Subrahmanyan, was selected after a rigorous process and mentored and groomed by his legendary predecessor AM Naik for the top job for several years before his elevation. All the more surprising that he regretted during an internal meeting his inability to make his employees work even on Sundays, 90 hours a week, questioning rhetorically how long one could stare at one’s spouse thereby, igniting a debate about work-life balance and productivity.
This was no investor or an analyst meeting with open-ended questions but a scheduled internal webcast where questions and answers are planned before-hand. That someone could leak this internal meeting video on social media itself shows things are not hunky dory! Nor is this the first time remarks about longer working hours have sparked heated online debates. In 2023, it was Narayana Murthy, co-founder of Infosys, who faced similar criticism and became the subject of social media memes after remarking that Indians should work 70 hours a week for India to progress. Now Murthy has been through ups and downs, stared at failure and taken success in his stride. When he talks of hard work, he speaks from his own life and years of slog. Although his comments provoked debates, the uproar faded till the more recent outrageous comments by L&T’s Chairman & Managing Director.
I have worked in L&T for over three decades, the culture has always been people -centric. We invariably referred to L&T as ‘our’ company. Henning Holck-Larsen, the co- founder of L&T was supportive and focused on employee well-being, his favorite maxim: “Treat People as People” while exhorting us to be passionate about our work. We looked at our jobs in L&T as careers of a lifetime. We worked while there was a job to do and were not mere ‘clock watchers’, no one ever told us how many hours to work.
Why then do we repeatedly get embroiled in controversies about how hard we should work? Don’t we work hard enough? Indians are arguably the hardest-working people in the world, only we don’t need to be reminded to work hard. Just look at daily wagers, farmers, roadside vendors, or labourers who have to work hard just to survive. Why should anybody tell us that we need to work harder? Why don’t company honchos look at this issue from a lifestyle perspective before insisting on such rigid work hours? What about numerous women who juggle home and work? Isn’t it simply impractical for them ?
What about chronic fatigue and exhaustion, the difficulty maintaining a healthy sleep schedule, leading to insomnia or poor sleep quality, a weakened immune system that makes one more susceptible to illnesses or the increased risk of obesity, cardiovascular diseases and other health issues due to prolonged sitting? What about high levels of stress and burnout, or the increased risk of anxiety disorders and depression due to constant work pressure, the difficulty in maintaining a healthy work-life balance, affecting personal relationships and social life? Balancing work and personal life is crucial for long-term health and well-being.
It was bad enough if Subrahmanyan had stopped there and not obnoxiously asked what L&Tites would do if they stayed home and how long they could keep staring at their spouses? The misogyny in the remarks is bad enough, but there is also the implicit assumption that L&T employees should have no lives outside of work, that even spending time with their families is frowned upon. The question itself seemed unreasonable, especially when he could have diplomatically talked of a competitive and precarious market scenario that required L&T to increase productivity. It’s during such critical moments that one unwittingly displays one’s true nature, making such gaffes difficult to erase. He could have ended the controversy by immediately apologizing, instead of justifying the uncharitable remarks with talk of L&T’s nation-building attributes while getting his personnel to list his pro-employee qualities on social media platforms.
Employees are proud of L&T, an Indian multinational engaged in gigantic projects, hi-tech manufacturing and services, in core high impact sectors of India’s economy, operating in over 50 countries worldwide and sustaining leadership in its major business lines for eight consecutive decades. Regrettably, one statement from the CMD has turned L&T, one of India‘s most respected companies, into the subject of memes and public ridicule with even companies like Blinkit, a convenient hyper-local delivery company, which enables grocery orders and delivery via a web browser to post memes all over saying “Don’t Stare just Blinkit”.
As a former employee, I find these events deeply distressing but hope they will blow over leaving the company to get on with its 4th Quarter business, the biggest Quarter in the financial year!
(The author is a regular contributor at The Shillong Times)