Driving Performance or Draining People? A Leadership Crossroads

In January 2025, a video from Larsen & Toubro (L&T) went viral in the public domain and ignited one of the most intense debates on working long hours in India in recent memory. In the clip, the Chairman and Managing Director was seen advocating a 90-hour workweek as a pathway to global competitiveness. What may have been intended as a rallying call for performance was widely perceived as a dismissal of work-life balance and employee well-being. The backlash was swift. Business leaders, public figures and employees criticised the tone and implications of the remarks. Among those who weighed in was Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy, whose earlier suggestion that young Indians should work 70-hour workweeks had already stirred controversy, underscoring that this was not an isolated episode but part of a broader narrative about national ambition and personal sacrifice, which apparently seem unrealistic and inequitable. The L&T episode offers more than a momentary reputational challenge. The narrative raises fundamental questions about how leaders should communicate...