'Humans or robots?': Akhilesh Yadav wades into 90-hour workweek debate

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav said the quality of work mattered more than the number of work hours clocked. (File/PTI)

Samajwadi Party president and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday joined the ongoing debate on 90-hour workweeks and wondered if those proposing such a life for young employees were talking about human beings or robots.

In an open letter addressed to "young employees" on his X handle, Akhilesh said that humans want to live with emotions and family and that proposals such as 90-hour workweeks were impractical and that quality of work counts more than the hours put in.

"Those who are advising employees to work for 90 hours, are they talking about replacing humans with robots because humans want to live with their emotions and family," he said.

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Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) March 3, 2025

Stressing that true economic justice demands equitable distribution of prosperity benefits, Akhilesh said that if the benefits of economic progress are to be reaped by a select few, it does not matter to the people if "economy is of 30 trillion or 100 trillion".

Akhilesh said that those proposing such rigorous work hours should remember that it is not about working for hours but about working wholeheartedly. "Quality of work is most important, not quantity. The truth is that the people sitting at the top get the maximum benefit of the hard work of the youth without doing anything, that is why some such people give impractical advice like 'working for 90 hours'," he said.

Akhilesh further asked if those making such proposals ever thought of such ideas when they were young. "If they did work for 90 hours in their time, then why have we reached such a low trillion dollar economy today?" asked Akhilesh.

The 90-hour workweek debate was triggered by Larsen & Toubro Ltd chairman SN Subrahmanyan in January, who called for employees to work on Sundays as well to maximise productivity.

"What do you do sitting at home? How long can you stare at your wife? Come on, get to the office and start working," he had said, adding that he works on Sundays too.

His remarks, however, led to massive social media outrage, with many questioning the fairness and ethics of such an extreme and demanding work model.

Earlier, Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy had suggested that youngsters should be prepared to work for 70 hours a week to boost productivity.