The Indian discourse was in overdrive this week, thanks to Larsen & Toubro chairman SN Subrahmanyan’s enlightened advice to work even on Sundays. His internal call, now fodder for meme factories, sparked another round of conversations about work culture in India. Of course, this isn’t uncharted territory. Barely a few months ago, Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy preached the gospel of the 70-hour workweek as a remedy for India’s productivity woes. Together, these corporate sermons have reignited a familiar, tired debate: Is there no end to the narrative that blames hardship on laziness, while glorifying relentless overwork as the only path to success?
Perhaps Subrahmanyan, who advocated for a 90-hour work week to stay “on top of the world”, considers offence to be the best defence. After all, he chose provocative statements over a reasonable explanation for his seven-day work culture push. The pièce de résistance was this misogynistic comment: “How long can you stare at your wife, or how long can the wife stare at the husband?” If his aim was to ridicule an already overburdened workforce, he certainly nailed it.
Subrahmanyan’s comments were a thinly veiled attempt to normalise modern-day slavery. The logic, of course, is as flawed as it is insulting. Success is always relative, but in the L&T chief’s worldview, not working themselves to the bone is the biggest reason many people aren’t as “successful” as those perched on top of the corporate ladder.
Such statements from CEOs and corporate gurus stem from a long-running myth: achieving success requires sacrificing every aspect of your personal life, and that disagreeing with such an approach amounts to failure. This narrative conveniently ignores that productivity isn’t merely a function of hours worked. It is influenced by countless factors, including mental health, physical well-being, and work-life balance. Even for those without family obligations, there’s a limit to how many hours they can perform at peak efficiency. The bigger scam, however, is the implication that anyone willing to endure gruelling work hours will automatically rise to the top. Success is inherently subjective, shaped by circumstances and relative to one’s peers. It’s not a one-size-fits-all formula.
The reality of social mobility
SN Subrahmanyan’s remarks blatantly imply that social mobility is purely a function of hard work, branding those who remain poor or live in hardship as lazy. They perpetuate the illusion that if everyone works 90-hour weeks, they’ll somehow all become rich, successful, and leaders in their field—conveniently ignoring the critical roles of luck and privilege in shaping outcomes. In a society with deeply entrenched hierarchical structures of caste and class, can mere hours of work truly alter people’s lives? This oversimplification dismisses such realities and blames individuals for circumstances often beyond their control.
People from underprivileged backgrounds remain stuck in a cycle of poverty despite putting in endless hours of work. But when some of these individuals manage to claw their way out, their success is paraded around as proof that hard work is all it takes—completely ignoring the mountain of systemic barriers the rest face. It’s the same tired playbook: take the exception, call it the rule, and paint everyone else as lazy.
If one bothers to look at the data, the illusion of social mobility in India quickly unravels. According to the Observer Research Foundation, for children whose parents’ income falls in the bottom 20 per cent, the odds of climbing to the highest income quintile are a dismal three per cent. Over half (52 per cent) of these children will remain trapped in the same income bracket as their parents.
Meanwhile, 54 per cent of children born to the wealthiest families stay comfortably at the top, showcasing the glaring inequities in opportunity. The numbers are even worse for marginalised groups: only two per cent of children from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe households in the lowest income bracket ever make it to the highest quintile. So, is it really about hard work? Are the poor stuck in poverty because they aren’t clocking 90-hour work weeks?
Also read: We don’t need millionaires telling us to work harder. L&T’s Subrahmanyan is in wrong century
Recognise your privilege
It’s easy for a CEO, comfortably perched at the top, to lecture others on how to be on top of the game. But let’s not pin all the blame on them—our society, too, often refuses to confront the reality of privilege. We feel entitled, looking down on the poor while telling them that their kids aren’t studying enough or that they’re not working “hard enough” to “change their circumstances.”
As someone born into a Pasmanda Muslim family, I grew up witnessing relatives and people who didn’t have the same opportunities or privileges as I did. They worked harder than me but didn’t have access to the same opportunities. I could get ahead because my family could afford to provide better education, a healthier environment, and proper nourishment.
I remember feeling a sense of security even during my five years in the village. I could roam freely and attend school without fear, simply because my father was well-known. For other girls, that safety was a privilege they couldn’t imagine. It’s not that I didn’t have to put in effort, but I started the race miles ahead. When I think of those young women and my relatives, it’s clear to me that my advantages weren’t earned—they were the result of an accident of birth. Privilege doesn’t just level the playing field; it builds the track, provides the shoes, and draws the starting line.
The whole thing becomes more ridiculous when the idea of nation building is thrown in as an excuse for justifying endless work hours. So now, is patriotism about building profits for shareholders? What about family? Subrahmanyan’s remark suggested that families are a hurdle in professional life, and that the time spent on spouses should instead be spent on work. Does the nation not need fathers, mothers, husbands, and wives to help build its social fabric? Or is the idea of being a cog in the corporate wheel more valuable than shaping the very relationships that form the backbone of society?
It’s almost as if some rich people in India feel invincible, comfortably spewing ridiculous and outrageous statements because they know there will be no consequences. Their power and privilege shield them, allowing them to belittle the struggles of the working class without ever being held accountable. They exist in a bubble so far removed from reality that they can say the most tone-deaf things with the confidence that nothing—not public backlash, not outrage—could ever truly challenge their position.
Amana Begam Ansari is a columnist. She runs a weekly YouTube show called ‘India This Week by Amana and Khalid’. She tweets @Amana_Ansari. Views are personal.
(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)
The inaction of the Board, to the adverse publicity L&T has garnered, is a sorry story in itself.
L&T was shameless enough to double down in support of their Chairman. Also, the HR Head, a lady, came out strongly in support of this Chairman vouching for his concern and care for employee well-being and work-life balance.
The fact that this kind of a person was promoted through the corporate ladder in L&T and is now the Chairman speaks volumes about the work culture at L&T. One can imagine how painful a boss he must have been all along to his subordinates.