After Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy’s controversial comments on work culture, L&T Chairman SN Subrahmanyan is now drawing sharp criticism for suggesting that employees should work 90 hours a week. The remarks surfaced during an employee interaction where Subrahmanyan was asked why the company still enforces Saturday workdays. His response stunned many: “I regret I am not able to make you work on Sundays. If I can make you work on Sundays, I will be more happy because I work on Sundays,” he stated in an undated video. He further said, “What do you do sitting at home? How long can you stare at your wife?”
To justify his stance, he shared an anecdote about a conversation with a Chinese individual who claimed China’s dominance over the USA is due to its citizens’ longer working hours. He suggested that if one wants to be on top of the world, then they have to work 90 hours a week.
Backlash on Social Media over Sub: Here’s how Reddit, X users reacted
Subrahmanyan’s remarks quickly went viral, sparking outrage online. Social media users criticised his views on work-life balance, with many calling them outdated and tone-deaf. His comments were compared to Narayana Murthy’s earlier suggestion that young professionals should adopt a 70-hour workweek, further fueling the debate on unhealthy work cultures in India.
One of the reddit users who attended the interaction said, “I was in that speech yesterday. Someone asked in L&T sick leave Is approved only if you fall sick two days, why and how come we can fall sick only day ? He said then don’t fall sick”.
On being compared with China, another user wrote, “I don’t care about competing with China. Let China become number one; it doesn’t make any difference to me. I just want to sit with my family and enjoy the limited amount of time I have here on earth with my loved ones. Even after paying so much tax, there isn’t a single proper road in my entire locality. The garbage dumps aren’t even covered; everything is out in the open. Every other day, a flyover or bridge collapses, and new expressways already have cracks and potholes. Fix all this first, then come and ask me to work 90 hours a week.”
Another Reddit user commented that the man is a workaholic with “no ethics or humanity.” He wrote, “He’s not taking physical or psychological factors into account, only thinking of profit…. even if robots were used… will explode if overworked…and what kind annoying statement is made about men spending Sundays looking at their wives? Very deplorable and condescending statement towards those who use their weekends for recuperative rest ,sport or errands. Shows he is a cold blooded person who gives no importance to relationship.”
One of the users on X broke down the logic and math behind Subrahmanyan’s proposed schedule: “90 hours work, 42 hours sleep, 26 hours for basic needs, 12 hours commute… leaves 1 hour for life. Narayana Murthy virus is too contagious!” On the same lines, another user tweeted, “168 hours in a week. 90 for work, 56 for sleep, 21 for routine. That’s 1 hour left.”
The internet’s meme-makers went into overdrive, transforming the controversy into a viral comedy fest. From “Narayan Murthy Virus 2.0” to charts ridiculing “corporate slavery,” the backlash was sharp and unrelenting. One popular meme joked, “Yet another CEO shamelessly endorsing modern-day slavery.”