11/01/2025
Work to Live, Not Die Working: A Concerned Therapist Speaks Out in an Open Letter to Everyone
What’s better according to you: working 90 hours a week, staring endlessly at your screen, or working a 'normal' shift while enjoying time with your family, some sunshine, and the life you’re actually building?
These days, it seems the rat race is less about achieving meaningful goals and more about flaunting extreme, toxic work habits. As if competing over job performance wasn’t enough, now we’re seeing a disturbing trend: leaders boasting ridiculous advice on how much employees should work. Glorifying extreme, unhealthy work culture seems to be the new norm.
First, it was Infosys co-founder N. R. Narayana Murthy advocating a 70-hour workweek. Shocking, right? But not shocking enough, apparently. L&T Chairman .N. Subrahmanyan raised the stakes, declaring a 90-hour workweek should be the norm. His suggestion? Even give up Sundays.
Seriously? Give up Sundays?
As a therapist, let me tell you, we’re already dealing with a rising wave of clients suffering from work-life imbalances. Burnout. Stress. Inability to set boundaries. These aren’t just buzzwords—they’re real, devastating issues that lead to anxiety, depression, strained relationships, and even chronic health conditions. And now, just when people are struggling to stay afloat, we’re handed this “golden advice”?
Let’s break down what long working hours are actually doing to people. Physical and mental health issues are on rise. Issues like weight problems, cardiac conditions, loneliness, sleep disorders, and fertility struggles are rising at alarming rates. Add to that the emotional toll: strained relationships, divorces, lack of connection with family and friends. The list doesn’t end.
India is home to one of the world’s youngest workforces. We have an incredible opportunity to build a robust foundation for a healthier, stronger future. But instead of nurturing this potential, we’re seeing influential figures push toxic, outdated ideas of success. Is this the leadership our youth deserves?
Sure, money and work are important. But at what cost? If you’re working 70 or 90 hours a week, where will you spend that hard-earned money? On whom? Your life is being traded for hours behind a desk, leaving you with inactivity, monotony, and, ironically, a shorter lifespan. Premature aging, robotic routines, and a body riddled with diseases—does this sound like success?
The grim reality is, we’re breeding a generation of workaholics trapped in an illusion that whispers: “You’re born to work, and die working.” Imagine outpacing donkeys in sheer labor. Yes, donkeys. They must be watching us, either terrified of how humans are evolving or relieved that soon the idiom “work like a donkey” will be replaced with “work like a corporate employee.”
Let me be clear: this isn’t just about humor or satire. It’s about the concerning normalization of toxic work culture in India. The glorification of overwork is leading us down a very dark path, one where the definition of success is twisted beyond recognition.
So, I ask again: are we here to live, love, and thrive? Or are we here to work ourselves into oblivion? It’s time to think about what truly matters and push back against advice that prioritizes profits over people.
Sincerely,
A concerned therapist - Neha Pandey Pant from Be Bold Counselling Services
P.S. I urge Infosys and L&T Technology Services to proactively work on their work culture and employee expectations. I urge Mandaviya from of Labour and Employment to take action on this pressing issue. I urge companies like Maven Clinic and Workplace Options who are actively working for employee wellness globally and in India as well, to promote better work life balance. Companies like Google Microsoft Salesforce set great examples by promoting healthy work cultures, and we need more organizations to follow suit. Organizations like Great Place to Work® Institute (India), I urge that you set stronger parameters for organizations in the area of work – life balance who are seeking your certification
Let’s advocate for change together!
