‘What are you doing sitting at home?’ L&T chairman calls for ‘work on Sundays, 90-hour work weeks’

L&T chairperson Subrahmanyan said in annual address that he ‘regrets being unable to make employees work on Sundays’. One employee says what Subrahmanyan expects is ‘inhumane’.

Larsen and Toubro Chairman S.N. Subrahmanyan | ltmetro.in

New Delhi: S.N. Subrahmanyan, chairman and managing director of Larsen & Toubro (L&T), began his annual address on a seemingly pleasant note. “I hope you all take care of your health this year,” he said. But the address Tuesday quickly descended into what the top boss expected of his employees—expectations many have termed “unrealistic”. 

Subrahmanyan expressed regret for “not being able to make his employees work on Sunday,” and also allegedly told employees they should avoid falling sick, and come to work even if they are not keeping well. 

He also said, “I had a meeting with a Chinese [person] recently. And the gentleman told me, ‘we can beat America any time’. I asked him why he was saying that. He said Americans work 40 hours a week, we work 90 hours a week … so that’s the answer for you, if you want to be on top of the world … you want to make the fastest, strongest, largest anything like that then you work 90 hours a week. Get going guys!”

The annual address includes a Q&A session between the chairman and employees. 

Post the address, L&T employees who spoke to ThePrint on condition of anonymity, said there was widespread disgruntlement among the cohort who were miffed by the chairman making such demands from them. “We’re already working close to 60-65 hours a week. What more do they want? We cannot completely abandon our families,” said an employee of one of the Larsen & Toubro Group companies.

A clip of the address was uploaded on Reddit, seemingly by one of the employees, and is now viral. 

Answering an employees’ question on a six-day workweek, Subrahmanyan replied: “I regret I am unable to make you work on Sundays, to be honest. I work on Sundays also. What are you doing sitting at home? How long can you stare at your wife, how long can the wife stare at the husband?” Multiple employees attest to the authenticity of the video. 

With the address, Subrahmanyan goes a notch above Infosys founder N.R. Narayana Murthy, who has advocated for a 70-hour work week in the past.

Younger employees have been pushing back against such long work hours, advocating for the need of a work life balance. 

ThePrint reached S.N. Subramanyan via email for a comment on how his address is being received, but had not received a response by the time of publication. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.

A USD 17 billion conglomerate operating in 30 countries, L&T reportedly had more than 49,000 permanent employees as of 31 March 2023.

‘Hypocrisy’ of annual address

Even as a short clip of the annual address is going viral, employees recalled problematic things they claimed Subramanyan said.

“Last year someone had asked him about the gender pay gap, not just in L&T but in the industry at large. And he said that women should stop taking maternity leaves, then they’ll get pay parity,” said a second L&T employee who did not wish to be named.

Another expressed frustration at the ‘hypocrisy’ of the annual address. 

“He started the speech by asking us to take care of our health. And when someone asked him about the sick leave policy, he said ‘you don’t need to fall sick, just come to the office’, he was contradicting himself!”

The employee said an employee’s availability is expected throughout their breaks. “Even if you take medical or casual leaves, you’re expected to work. You cannot hand over work, switch off your phone and take a break,” the employee told ThePrint over the phone.

Now, many employees ThePrint spoke to say they are combing LinkedIn and sending their resumes to other employers in search of a better work-life balance. “I have been looking for a job, but in the current environment it is difficult,” said one employee quoted earlier, adding that departure from these expectations of working beyond fixed hours and during leaves can hamper an employees’ growth within the company, and put their jobs at stake. 

ThePrint reached L&T via email for a response to these concerns raised by employees, but had not received a response by the time of publication. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.

“I don’t mind putting in extra work to meet deadlines, but it cannot be an every day thing. It is exhausting. What Mr Subrahmanyan said … it’s inhumane,” said one employee.

(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)