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The Work-Life Balance Crisis: India's 90-Hour Work Culture Under Scrutiny
The Work-Life Balance Crisis: India's 90-Hour Work Culture Under Scrutiny

June 23, 2025

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The ongoing debate around excessive working hours has thrust India's corporate culture into the spotlight, with the 90-hour work week controversy a few months ago serving as the latest flashpoint in workplace expectations. What began as discussions about sustainable work practices has evolved into a critical examination of employee wellbeing versus productivity demands. The current discourse traces back to multiple incidents that have shaped public opinion: the tragic death of a young EY employee who reportedly succumbed to work-related stress in 2024, followed by a prominent tech founder's advocacy for 70-hour work weeks in late 2023. The debate reached new heights in January 2025 when a major infrastructure company's chairman suggested employees should work 90 hours per week, including Sundays, with controversial comments that has gone viral and drew widespread criticism.

Several industry leaders have since publicly disagreed with such extreme work hour suggestions, advocating instead for balanced approaches to productivity and success.

But beyond the headlines and corporate statements lies a more concerning reality: India's tech workforce is already operating at unsustainable levels, and the push for even longer hours ignores both scientific evidence and mounting health costs.
 

The Numbers Don't Lie

India's tech professionals are already stretched thin. Recent data shows that IT employees work nearly 50+ hours weekly on average, well above global standards of 40 hours. According to a KCCI report, 50% of IT employees in India work more than nine hours a day, with three-quarters missing family events due to extended work hours (Business Standard, 2024). When you factor in the pressure to stay competitive in a rapidly evolving industry, many are clocking even more hours, often sacrificing weekends and personal time.

But here's the thing: more hours don't automatically translate to better results. A Stanford study found that productivity drops sharply after 50 hours per week. Beyond 55 hours, you're essentially running on empty—the output per hour becomes so low that you might as well have stopped earlier.
 

The Mental Health Crisis We're Ignoring

The World Health Organization has been clear about this: working over 55 hours weekly significantly increases your risk of heart disease and stroke by 35% and 17% respectively. A recent Gallup study found that 76% of employees experience burnout on the job at least sometimes, while globally, an estimated 12 billion working days are lost every year to depression and anxiety at a cost of 1 trillion per year in lost productivity (WHO, 2024).

For an industry that prides itself on innovation and problem-solving, we're surprisingly slow to address this problem within our own walls. Mental health issues in tech are already at alarming levels. The constant pressure to upskill, meet tight deadlines, and stay relevant creates a perfect storm of stress. Add 90-hour weeks to this mix, and you're looking at burnout rates that would make any CHRO lose sleep.

The Productivity Paradox

Here's what's interesting: countries with shorter work weeks often outperform those with longer ones. Germany, known for its 30-hour work weeks in many sectors, has one of the most productive economies globally. Denmark consistently ranks high in both productivity and happiness indices.

The tech industry should know this better than anyone. We've built tools and systems that make work more efficient, yet we're still stuck in an industrial-age mindset that equates hours with output.
 

Why This Mindset Persists

The "always-on" culture isn't just about market competition. It's deeply rooted in how we perceive dedication and success. Many leaders genuinely believe that long hours demonstrate commitment. Employees, fearing job insecurity in a competitive market, rarely push back.

There's also the client expectation factor. Global clients often expect round-the-clock availability, and companies pass this pressure down to their teams without considering the human cost.
 

The Real Cost of Overwork

When your best developers are exhausted, code quality suffers. When your project managers are running on four hours of sleep, decision-making becomes poor. When your entire team is burnt out, innovation dies.

Companies might think they're getting more value from overworked employees, but they're actually paying a hidden premium: higher attrition rates, increased sick days, lower quality output, and the massive cost of constantly hiring and training replacements.
 

A Different Approach

Some forward-thinking tech companies are already changing course. They're implementing flexible schedules, mandatory time-off policies, and measuring success by outcomes rather than hours logged.

Microsoft Japan saw a 40% productivity boost after implementing a four-day work week. Closer to home, several Indian startups are experimenting with flexible schedules and seeing positive results in both employee satisfaction and business outcomes.
 

The Path Forward

The solution isn't about working less for the sake of it, it's about working smarter. This means:

Setting realistic project timelines that don't require superhuman effort to meet. Respecting boundaries between work and personal time. Measuring performance based on deliverables and impact, not hours spent at a desk. Creating an environment where saying "no" to unreasonable demands isn't career suicide.
 

Time for Change

India's tech industry has always been about solving complex problems with innovative thinking. It's time we apply that same innovative thinking to how we work.

The 90-hour work week isn't a symbol of dedication and also it's a symptom of poor planning, unrealistic expectations, and outdated management practices. As we compete globally, our strength should come from the creativity and well-being of our workforce, not from their exhaustion.

The companies that figure this out first will have a significant advantage: happier employees, better retention, higher quality work, and ultimately, better business results. The question is: will we be among them, or will we continue to mistake busy for productive?

The conversation around work culture isn't just about individual well-being—it's about the sustainable future of India's tech industry. It's time we started treating it as seriously as we treat our next product launch.

Resources:

  • Business Standard (2024). KCCI Report on IT Employee Working Hours

  • Modern Health (2024). Gallup Study on Employee Burnout

  • World Health Organization (2024). Mental Health and Work: Impact, Issues and Good Practices

  • International Labor Organization. Working Time Around the World

  • Stanford Economics. The Productivity of Working Hours


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