Amul, known for their satirical and sarcastic cartoons, joined the ongoing debate on 90-hour workweek by sharing a quirky doodle on Tuesday.
The controversy was reignited by Larsen & Toubro (L&T) chairman SN Subrahmanyan, who suggested that employees should work up to 90 hours a week, including Sundays, to maintain a competitive edge.
Subrahmanyan had said, “I regret I am not able to make you work on Sundays. If I could, I would. I work on Sundays.” He also questioned what employees gained from taking time off at home, saying, “What do you do sitting at home? How long can you stare at your wife? How long can the wives stare at their husbands? Get to the office and start working.”
Amul’s doodle, shared with caption ‘controversy about the 90-hour work week!’, featured the text ‘Labour and Toil?’ with L and T in bold. The brand also took a dig at Subrahmanyan’s comment, with the text ‘Amul stares at bread daily.’
Subrahmanyan’s comments have faced backlash from social media users, who compared his remarks to Infosys founder Narayana Murthy’s statement about working 70 hours a week. Users also questioned why highly paid CEOs expect the same level of commitment from lower-paid employees.
Bollywood superstar Deepika Padukone and RPG group chairperson Harsh Goenka condemned Subrahmanyan’s remarks. Goenka posted on X, “90 hours a week? Why not rename Sunday to ‘Sun-duty’ and make ‘day off’ a mythical concept!”
Anand Mahindra weighed in on the debate, suggesting that the focus should be on quality rather than quantity, emphasising the importance of prioritizing productivity and efficiency over lengthy work hours.
