Is 90-hour work-week sustainable?

L&T Chairman SN Subrahmanyan has suggested employees work 90 hours a week – including Sundays – to stay competitive

Hyderabad: Senior psychiatrists and doctors in Hyderabad describe the advice as a recipe for disaster.

Such a demanding schedule will inevitably leave workers physically and mentally drained, triggering major health issues and social problems that will be difficult to deal with.

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Employees putting in 90 hours of work in a week might benefit the organisation but they will have to pay the price of overwork, both physically and mentally.

“I can’t ask my patients or for that matter, any individual to work for 90 hours a week. One cannot sustain such grueling hours for a long time. They will suffer chronic fatigue and sleep deprivation, which in turn will cause mental and physical health issues,” says neuro-psychiatrist, Dr Vishal Akula

Dr Vishal, a senior council member of the Indian Psychiatric Society, said if individuals are sleep deprived due to overwork, it will directly impact their mental and physical wellbeing.

“Chronic fatigue makes individuals ideal candidates for cardiovascular health issues. They become vulnerable to heart attacks, strokes, high blood pressure, and hypertension. Apart from all this, they will face mental health issues including chronic stress, burnout, emotional exhaustion, depression and anxiety. At such mental state, they are vulnerable for emotional breakdowns, which should be avoided,” Dr Vishal pointed out.

Neurologist Dr Sudhir Kumar, well known on social media platform X as (@hyderabaddoctor) minced no words while talking about the ill effects of overwork. “Working 90 hours a week would only benefit the organisation in terms of revenues and profits, at the cost of the health of the employee,” he said.

Work on all 7 days a week, and clock 90 hours of work in a week: Mr S N Subrahmanyam (Larsen and Toubro)
➡️In a recent interview, L & T Chairman, Mr. S N Subrahmanyam was asked- “Why do you make your employees work even on Saturdays?”
➡️His reply: “I regret that I am not able to… pic.twitter.com/Oxs4TxWLLN

— Dr Sudhir Kumar MD DM (@hyderabaddoctor) January 9, 2025

“Overworking is associated with higher risk of heart attack, stroke, premature death, burn out and lower productivity at work. It also negatively affects the work-life balance of employees and would be detrimental to relationships with spouse, children, and other family members and friends,” he said.