Working 90 Hours a Week: A Closer Look
Here's my opinion on the issue. Sorry for the long read.
Hard work is great. Being totally immersed in something you’re passionate about is even better. When you think about any successful person—whether it's a sports star or a business mogul—one thing is clear: they’ve gotten where they are by putting in more hours than most people. Success doesn’t just fall into your lap; it requires dedication and putting in the grind. Whether you're in sports or business, the people who achieve greatness are the ones willing to sacrifice their time, their personal time, or even those mindless hours spent scrolling through social media. The ones who put in the effort are the ones who live the high life, make an impact, and feel the most fulfilled. Even Elon Musk has talked about working 90-100 hours a week, saying it’s key to achieving big things.
So, when the head of L&T suggests people should work 90 hours a week, he’s not entirely wrong. He’s pushing his team to work for something bigger—whether it’s for the company, for growth, or to contribute more.
But here’s the big question: Betterment for who?
Is it for society, for the employees themselves, or is it just for the higher-ups who already get the best of everything? We’re talking about massive salaries, bonuses, lavish perks, foreign trips, extra leave, and company-sponsored getaways. When the L&T chief talks about working 90 hours, he's leaving out a big reality: most of their employees are earning average salaries. Many are already working overtime, stressing about deadlines, and constantly worrying about losing their jobs. After all that hard work, what do they get? A tiny annual raise—maybe 3-4%—which hardly keeps up with inflation.
On top of that, it’s easy for executives to forget that most employees don’t have the luxury of outsourcing basic tasks like cooking or cleaning because they can’t afford it. Take Gurgaon(where I live), for example—hiring a maid or a cook is just too expensive for most people. So, if they’re working 90+ hours a week and getting paid poorly for it, where do they find the time to cook or clean? It’s a struggle. And it’s even worse for women, who often juggle work at the office with doing everything at home. In many urban cities, the expectation is still there that women should handle all the household chores, even if they’re working full-time at an MNC.
If employees are going to work 90 hours a week, shouldn’t they be paid for it? Today I read that at L&T, while salaries for top management rose by 20.38%, the pay for regular workers only went up by 1.74%. So, while executives are getting big rewards for putting in extra hours, the same can’t be said for the average worker.
The real issue here isn’t just about working long hours—it’s about the huge pay gap between executives and the people doing the real work. It's not that the people are lazy or are not driven by purpose. The system feels pretty off-balance. The question is: Who is the corporate world really benefiting? The employees putting in all the effort, or just the ones already at the top?
Give a thumbs-up or you are L&T chief’s nephew/niece😂
~PRASHANT GUPTA
(In my next post, I will explain whether UPSC aspirants need to study 90+ hours.)