New Delhi: As the burning debate on work life balance vs 90 Hours Work-Week advice by Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Chairman SN Subrahmanyan continues to garner traction on social media, with several biz honchos, economists and celebrities criticizing the glamorization of long working hours, company’s Head HR Sonica Muraleedharan has broken her silence.
Muraleedharan in a long post on LinkedIn wrote that “It’s truly disheartening to see how the words of our MD & Chairman, SN Subrahmanyan (SNS) have been taken out of context, leading to misunderstandings and unnecessary criticism.”
Muraleedharan, vouching for the L&T Chairman said that she was present in the internal address and explained that Subrahmanyan’s remarks were only in casual nature.
“Having been present during the internal address, I can confidently state that SNS never implied or mandated 90-hour work weeks. His remarks were casual in nature and have been misinterpreted, fuelling a controversy that doesn’t reflect his true intentions.”
In a video message to employees that went viral on social media, Subrahmanyan said: “What do you do sitting at home? How long can you stare at your wife? How long can wives stare at their husbands? Go to the office and start working”.
“Honestly, I am sorry that I am not able to make you work on Sundays. I will be happier if I can make you work on Sundays, because I work on Sundays too,” said the L&T Chairman.
In his video message, Subrahmanyan encouraged L&T employees to work harder. He spoke about a conversation he had with a Chinese man who said that China could overtake the US because of its strong work ethic.
According to Subrahmanyan, the Chinese man said, “Chinese people work 90 hours a week, while Americans work only 50 hours a week.”
The video received a backlash from netizens on social media platforms, including online discussion forum Reddit, with many users comparing it to Infosys founder Murthy’s statement about working 70 hours a day.
From Bollywood superstar Deepika Padukone to Harsh Goenka, Chairperson of the RPG Group, top celebrities also condemned Subrahmanyan’s remarks.
With Agency Inputs
