Work-Life Balance: The Debate Continues

As per law, in most states working hour limit is set at 48-hour week

- UMA KANNAN @Bengaluru

LARSEN & TOUBRO chairman SN Subrahmanyan's 90-hour-week comment has once again brought back the work-life balance debate. In an internal meeting, he told employees, "I regret I am not able to make you work on Sundays."

Infosys founder Narayana Murthy also had pitched for a 70-hour work week that ignited the heated debate. Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal too had supported Murthy's comment saying he is 'fully in sync' with his direction to the youth.

The growing debate on the issue necessarily points to widening generational rifts in enterprises, points out human resource experts.

Enterprise leadership today holds a varying mix of baby boomers, generation X-ers and millennials, and it shows when recurring issues like work from home and flexibility re-emerge, says Kamal Karanth, co-founder of Xpheno, a specialist staffing firm.

"The definitions of effort, intensity, consistency and productivity keep evolving with generations, and the resultant frictions are here to stay. Even if you keep the opinions aside, it seems mandatory for all leaders to know that there's a thin line between 'within and without' of enterprises," he adds.