The Great Indian Workaholic Circus: When CEOs Sounds Like Arrogant ‘Fufaji’ Of The Family!

Picture this: It’s a beautiful Sunday morning. The birds are chirping, the coffee is brewing, and somewhere in a plush corner office, a CEO is wondering why you’re not at work. How dare you spend quality time with your family when you could be contributing to the grand narrative of “nation-building” through endless PowerPoint presentations?

Welcome to the latest episode of “CEOs Know Best,” where India’s corporate titans are competing in the Olympic sport of “Who Can Demand More Hours?” First, we had Narayana Murthy’s modest proposal of a 70-hour workweek, but L&T’s chairman S N Subrahmanyan thought, “Hold my chai,” and raised the stakes to 90 hours. Because apparently, if you’re not working yourself to death, are you even alive?

Now marks a new entry in the work spaces- The Philosophy of “Staring at Spouses”!

Let’s pause to appreciate the profound wisdom in Subrahmanyan’s question: “How long can you stare at your wife?” Ah yes, because that’s exactly what people do on their days off – engage in competitive staring contests with their spouses. Nobody reads books, pursues hobbies, plays with their children, exercises, or heaven forbid, rests their weary minds and bodies. Clearly, if you’re not at the office, you must be participating in the great Indian spouse-staring championship.

This begs the question: When was the last time these corporate leaders had a meaningful conversation that didn’t involve quarterly targets? Do they remember what their children look like without the filter of a video call? Have they ever tried simply existing without the constant hum of Excel sheets in the background?

Let’s start with exploring the Mathematics of Madness

Let’s break down this 90-hour workweek proposition, shall we?

• 168 hours in a week
• Minus 90 hours for work
• Minus 56 hours for sleep (if you’re lucky)
• Leaves you with… drumroll… 22 whole hours!

That’s right, folks! A generous 3.14 hours per day for everything else in life – commuting, eating, personal hygiene, family time, and of course, the all-important spouse-staring activities. Isn’t that just the perfect recipe for a fulfilled life? Who needs work-life balance when one can have work-work balance?

The “Nation-Building” Narrative

Ah, the ultimate trump card – nation-building. Because nothing says “patriotic duty” quite like burning yourself out at your desk while your CEO writes another LinkedIn post about hustle culture. It’s fascinating how this narrative conveniently ignores that some of the world’s most productive nations (looking at you, Nordic countries) prioritize work-life balance and still manage to build rather impressive nations. But no, we must follow the path of maximum resistance. Why learn from successful models of sustainable work culture when we can reinvent the wheel and make it square while we’re at it?

At one hand, CEOs says why to stare at your wifes and on the other hand, the government says produce more children, because population is declining– seems like the people sitting at the top have found new ways to torture Indian folks; let’s forget at the moment the tale of taxes!

The Real Cost of Toxic Productivity

Behind the sarcasm lies a disturbing reality. This mindset of only ‘work-work-work’ is not only just tone-deaf, but it’s dangerous. We are, at the moment, watching the normalization of burnout culture at a time when mental health concerns are skyrocketing. The message being sent is clear: your worth is measured in hours logged, not in the quality of your work or the richness of your life.

Consider the ripple effects

• rising stress-related health issues
• crumbling family structures
• decreased productivity (oh, the irony!)
• a generation growing up believing that life exists only to serve corporate interests

The Hypocrisy Hour

Let’s address the elephant in the room: These proclamations often come from individuals who:

• Have the luxury of choosing their working hours
• Enjoy compensation packages that make those hours more palatable
• Have support systems that handle their personal responsibilities
• Can take breaks whenever they want (probably to stare at their spouses)

Yet, they expect entry-level employees earning a fraction of their salary to match their hours without any of these privileges. It’s like a five-star hotel chef telling a street food vendor they’re not dedicated enough because they don’t use truffle oil.

For relevance, S.N Subrahmanyan had a 43% increase in salary last year to make it 51 crores. On the other hand, L&T employees get an average of 2.5% – 4% annual salary raise. In some cases even less. Also, Mr Murthy last month purchased a luxury apartment in Bengaluru’s Kingfisher Towers for ₹50 crore, while Infosys employees’s minimum salary for a fresher can range from ₹2.4–5.4 lakhs per year; the average base salary is around ₹4 lakhs per year. When CEOs have own interests and investors interest on top of everything else! Don’t expect much sane advice all the time.

A Different Vision of Success

Here’s a radical thought: What if success wasn’t measured by how many hours you spend at work, but by

• the impact you create during your working hours
• the innovations you bring to the table
• the healthy relationships you maintain
• the life you build outside of work
• your contribution to society’s overall well-being.

Shocking, isn’t it? The idea that humans might be more than just productivity machines!

Let’s Try To Look The Way Forward From The Dark

Perhaps it’s time for our corporate leaders to:

• Step out of their corner offices and experience the real world
• Remember that employees are humans, not robots (at least until AI takes over)
• Understand that quality of work often trumps quantity
• Accept that different people have different definitions of success
• Realize that their personal choices needn’t become universal mandates

Can We Figure Out A Modest Proposal?

Since our corporate leaders are so fond of staring-related activities, here’s a suggestion: How about staring at some employee satisfaction surveys? Or perhaps gazing lovingly at work-life balance studies from successful companies? Maybe even stealing a glance at mental health statistics?

And if they’re feeling particularly adventurous, they might try this exotic activity called “listening to their employees.” Though that might be too radical for some.

Conclusion: The Real Nation-Building

True nation-building happens when

• our workers are healthy and motivated
• their families are strong and supported
• the innovation flows from well-rested minds
• the company culture thrives through diverse experiences
• the entire society progresses through balanced development.

Therefore, dear corporate leaders (not all- because we have Swiggy head also, who advised to go home and live life), while you’re busy planning our Sunday schedules, some of us will be out there living life, building relationships, pursuing passions, and yes, occasionally staring at our spouses – because sometimes, that’s exactly what the soul needs.

And who knows? Maybe if you tried it yourself, you’d understand why some of us prefer our Sundays free of PowerPoint presentations and performance reviews. But until then, we’ll be here, building the nation in our own way – one balanced life at a time.

Because at the end of the day, life isn’t about surviving a 90-hour workweek. It’s about living each of those hours with purpose, joy, and maybe even a little bit of spouse-staring.