Deepika Padukone slams L&T head suggesting 90-hour work week for employees

New Delhi: Deepika Padukone joined the social media discourse around L&T chairman S N Subrahmanyan’s remarks about wishing to make employees work on Sundays, saying it was shocking to see such statements coming from people in top positions at companies.

In an undated video circulating on social media, Subrahmanyan is heard saying, “How long can you stare at your wife?” “I regret I am not able to make you work on Sundays. If I can make you work on Sundays, I will be happier, because I work on Sundays,” he further said in the video.

Sharing a post about the L&T head’s statement on her ‘Instagram Stories’, Padukone said, “Shocking to see people in such senior positions make such statements #mentalhealthmatter.”

Subrahmanyan’s comments drew criticism on social media with some questioning why highly paid CEOs with different job pressures expect the same level of commitment from less-paid employees. Soon after, L&T issued a clarification saying the chairman’s remarks were in the context of extraordinary efforts required to achieve extraordinary outcomes for the nation.

“We believe this is India’s decade, a time demanding collective dedication and effort to drive progress and realise our shared vision of becoming a developed nation. The chairman’s remarks reflect this larger ambition, emphasising that extraordinary effort,” an L&T spokesperson said in a brief statement.

Padukone, who has been advocating mental well-being and is also the founder of not-for-profit organisation ‘The Live Love Laugh Foundation’, posted the company’s statement on ‘Instagram’ and wrote, “And they just made it worse...”

The remarks by Subrahmanyan have reignited the work-life balance debate, first triggered by ‘Infosys’ Co-Founder Narayana Murthy’s suggestion of a 70-hour workweek.