Deepak Shenoy joins 90-hour work week debate, says ‘Real work happens in...’
L&T chairman SN Subrahmanyan's comments advocating Sunday work sparked outrage on social media, reigniting debates on work-life balance. Entrepreneurs like Deepak Shenoy argue productivity comes from intensity over hours.
The social media is abuzz in the light of the recent debate surrounding the 70-90 hour work week following comments by India Inc stalwarts like Narayana Murthy and, more recently, SN Subrahmanyan, chairman of Larsen & Toubro (L&T). In response to these comments, Capitalmind founder and CEO Deepak Shenoy has shared his own thought-provoking take on productivity and work-life balance.
Shenoy in a post on social media platform X shared his experience of working as an entrepreneur, often clocking over 100 hours a week. However, he points out that the real “work” often happens in just 4-5 hours a day.
His post likely hints that it's not about the number of hours worked but about the intensity and focus during those hours. Shenoy also challenged the conventional notion of enforced work hours, arguing that motivated individuals will naturally work hard without the need for strict time boundaries.
"I've probably worked 100 hours a week for nearly all my working life, but most of that was as an entrepreneur. You don't have to enforce working hours. People who are motivated will work happily. In any case, most real work happens in 4-5 hours a day, but you don't know when that happens," Shenoy's post on X read.
He highlights that meetings, while often categorised as work, require more energy than actual productive work itself, which may be why the traditional work hour debate seems less relevant to him.
"I still find it difficult to call meetings as work but it takes more energy than what i call work. At some level this working x hours argument is ununderstable to me. When i play, I will play hard. When i work I'll work hard. I suggest you find your rhythm, and I hope you find success in that; major economic rewards will come, sometimes now, sometimes later, to people that don't watch clocks," Shenoy said.
For Shenoy, success is tied to finding one's rhythm — whether that’s in intense bursts of work or balanced periods of play and productivity. Major economic rewards, he notes, often come to those who don’t keep an eye on the clock.
Deepak Shenoy is not the only one to voice his views on work-life balance, RPG Group Chairman Harsh Goenka also expressed his concern about the idea of working 90 hours a week following the L&T chairman's comments.
“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,” Goenka said in a post X.
L&T Chairman Sparks 90-Hour Week Debate
The latest reactions have come after L&T top boss Subrahmanyan was seen advocating working on Sundays.
During what appears to be an internal interaction, L&T chairman Mr Subrahmanyan when questioned about mandatory work days on Saturday 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."
He further said, “What do you do sitting at home? How long can you stare at your wife? How long can the wives stare at their husbands? Get to the office and start working.”
His comments sparked outrage on Reddit and social media platforms.
SN Subrahmanyan’s recent comments have further fueled the ongoing debate on work-life balance, a conversation that was initially ignited by Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy’s proposal of a 70-hour work week.
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