• By Aditya Jha
  • Tue, 14 Jan 2025 12:27 PM (IST)
  • Source:JND

Amid sparked controversy, Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Head HR Sonica Muraleedharan has defended Chairman SN Subrahmanyan over his remarks about the working hours, leading to a massive backlash from the netizens. Muraleedharan, in a post on LinkedIn, said that she was "disheartened" by the way Subrahmanyan's statements were "misinterpreted".

The post from Muraleedharan came amid an ongoing heavy debate over the work ethic and work-life balance. She stated that the chairman considered his employees as part of his family and his thoughts on work ethic were taken out of context. She confirmed that she was present while Subrahmanyan gave those remarks, adding that he never meant to implement 90-hour work weeks in the firm. She further stated that the remarks were not interpreted well and the people needed to understand the full context.

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"It's truly disheartening to see how the words of our MD & Chairman, SN Subrahmanyan (SNS) have been taken out of context, leading to misunderstandings and unnecessary criticism. Having been present during the internal address, I can confidently state that SNS never implied or mandated 90-hour work weeks," she stated in her post.

A massive controversy sparked after SN Subrahmanyan said that he wished he could ask his employees to work for 90 hours in a week, even on the Sundays. He further asked why the employees needed a break on Sundays when he was working, adding that for how long they intended to stare at their wives, leading to a massive controversy.

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"I regret I am not able to make you work on Sundays, to be honest. If I can make you work on Sundays, I will be more happy, because I work on Sundays also," he said. Several of the netizens criticised him for his remarks, claiming that the bosses needed to focus on the productivity rather than the working hours.

A similar debate sparked after Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy said that the employees should be ready to work for 70 hours in a week if they wanted the country to flourish.