90-hour workweek: Harsh Goenka says Denmark has some lessons for India — ‘flexible hours, minimal hierarchy’ | Company Business News

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Amid an ongoing row over a 90-hour workweek, sparked by a recent remark by L&T chairman SN Subrahmanyan, RPG Group chairman Harsh Goenka on Thursday gave an example of work culture in Denmark. He pointed out that Danish employees are trusted to work independently without micromanagement and get a minimum of five weeks of vacation a year.

In a post on social media platform X, Harsh Goenka said: “Why the people in Denmark are happiest about their work practices: Employees are trusted to work independently without micromanagement, minimum five weeks of vacation and six months of parental leave, flexible hours allow time for family and personal life, job loss is cushioned by government support.”

Calling for India to learn some lessons from Denmark, Goenka further said: “Minimal hierarchy, empowering employee, many Danes would work even after winning the lottery, employers value mental health and work-life balance, collective well-being prioritized over individual ambition.”

The debate over the 90-hour workweek began after L&T chairman Subrahmanyan, in an interaction with employees recently, had advocated for it.

Subrahmanyan’s comments drew sharp reactions from many corporate leaders.

Earlier, the RPG Group chairman had labelled long working hours as a “recipe for burnout”.

What did other corporate leaders say?

Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra emphasised the need to focus on the quality of work and not on the quantity.

Mahindra said: “Let me not get this wrong… but I have to say something. I think this debate is in the wrong direction because this debate is about the quantity of work.”

“My point is we have to focus on the quality of work, not on the quantity of work. So, it’s not about 40 hours, it’s not about 70 hours, it’s not about 90 hours. What output are you doing? Even if it’s 10 hours, you can change the world in 10 hours,” he added.

Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani had offered a light-hearted take, warning that “biwi bhaag jayegi (wife will leave)” if a person spends too much time at home.

ITC Ltd chairman Sanjiv Puri firmly opposed the notion of mandating excessive working hours, emphasising a more inclusive and empowering approach for employees.

“We would not do that,” Puri said, adding “We would rather like people to be part of the journey (of the company) and feel ‘passionately involved’ to make a difference to the enterprise. That’s how we look at it.”

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