Who is SN Subrahmanyan? L&T chairman wants employees to work 90-hour a week

Many Indian business leaders believe employees should work more, even on weekends. The debate on Indian work culture has become a hot topic since Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy suggested '70 hours a week' of work. Some agreed with him, but many disagreed with the idea of working so long. Now, another business person has advocated for working even on Sundays. 

He also suggested employees should work 90 hours a week and even on Sundays to remain competitive. His name is SN Subrahmanyan, chairman of Larsen & Toubro (L&T), a Rs 4.85 lakh crore market cap conglomerate, with interests in construction, industrial technology, heavy industry, and engineering.

Subrahmanyan's recent comments on work-life balance reportedly during an employee interaction have stirred a controversy. He was questioned about L&T's six-day workweek policy. In the video, Subrahmanyan said, “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 then questioned what employees gained from taking time off at home. He said, “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.”

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Subrahmanyan hails from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Popularly known as SNS, he started his professional journey with L&T in 1984 as a project planning engineer. He holds a degree in civil engineering and a post-graduation in business management (MBA). Subrahmanyan also has an Executive Management Programme from the London Business School. He is married to Meena Subrahmanyan. The duo have two children.