Economic Survey weighs in on work hours debate with '60-hour' warning: 'Detrimental to...'

The Economic Survey's stand comes weeks after L&T chairman S N Subrahmanyan sparked off a raging debate when he said employees should work 90-hour a week

The pre-Budget Economic Survey on Friday cited studies to state that working more than 60 hours a week could have “adverse health effects”.

The Economic Survey's stand on the work hour week comes weeks after Larsen & Toubro Ltd chairman and managing director S N Subrahmanyan sparked off a raging debate on social media when he said employees should work 90-hour a week, including on Sundays rather than sit at home.

Spending long hours at one's desk is “detrimental” to the mental well-being and individuals who spend 12 or more hours a day at a desk have distressed or struggling levels of mental well-being, the Economic Survey stated.

He followed Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy's suggestion of a 70-hour workweek and Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani's "biwi bhaag jayegi (wife will run away)" remark if one spent more than eight hours at home.

What Economic Survey said?

Spending long hours at one's desk is “detrimental” to the mental well-being and individuals who spend 12 or more hours a day at a desk have distressed or struggling levels of mental well-being, PTI quoted the survey as saying.

"While the hours spent at work are informally considered a measure of productivity, a previous study has documented adverse health effects when hours exceed 55-60 per week," the survey said, citing findings by Pega F, Nafradi B (2021) and 'A systematic analysis from the WHO/ILO Joint Estimates of the Work-related Burden of Disease and Injury'.

“Spending long hours at one's desk is equally detrimental to mental well-being. Individuals who spend 12 or more hours at a desk have distressed/struggling levels of mental well-being, with a mental well-being score approximately 100 points lower than those who spend less than or equal to two hours at a desk,” the survey added, citing data from a study done by the Sapien Labs Centre for Human Brain and Mind.

The survey further added that better lifestyle choices, workplace cultures and family relationships are associated with 2-3 fewer days lost per month at work.

“Having poor relationships with managers and low (worst) pride and purpose at work are associated with the largest increases in the number of days one is unable to work,” it said.

The survey added that multiple factors affect productivity stating that even in jobs with the best managerial relationships, about 5 days per month are lost "because workplace culture is but one factor (among several) in the determination of productivity (and mental well-being)".

‘12 billion days lost annually due to depression, anxiety’: WHO

Citing a study by WHO, the Survey said globally, about 12 billion days are lost annually due to depression and anxiety, amounting to a financial loss of USD 1 trillion. "In rupee terms, this translates to about ₹7,000 per day," it noted.

Chief Economic Advisor, Dr. V. Anantha Nageswaran said,"In general, we do specify the number of hours workers can work daily and weekly. Every country has it, but the problem is, that we have restrictions that shall be adhered to week after week after week, whereas other countries give flexibility to the enterprises to be able to achieve this over a longer period of three months or six months."

“Your overall working hours cannot exceed this, but in a given week there could be more or less work depending on demand surge, that flexibility is missing,” Nageswaran added.

(With PTI inputs)