48-hour work week will kill productivity: Techies
CHENNAI: It employees in the city are furious over a Labour Code Bill that seeks to increase the number of weekly working hours from 45 to 48. This, they say, will affect their physical and mental health. To make up these 48 hours, the Central government has proposed three options — 12 hours per day for four days a week; about 10 hours a day for five days; or eight hours a day for six days.
“This proposal is unacceptable. We had already been demanding a revision of labour laws since achieving the current limit of 45 hours is getting difficult. Many people in the industry suffer from mental health issues due to excessive pressure. The increased working hours would worsen the problem,” said 26-year-old N Pavithra, who works at an IT company on Old Mahabalipuram Road.
Concurring, another IT employee, T Venugopal, added, “The management already expects us to work for longer, pick up calls after our shift, and sometimes, work on weekends. If this rule is implemented, the government must at least ensure companies don’t force employees to work overtime.”
The staff said long working hours would increase fatigue, reduce productivity and deprive people of a social life. “Post Covid, many companies showed better productivity and attributed it to the work-from-home culture. Consistently working long hours makes you get burned out and fall behind.
When companies are reaching their targets with the current working hours, why increase them?” asked KM Vivin, who works at a company in Velachery. Coupled with long hours of travel to work, the changes would prove to be a nightmare to many, he added, and expressed a requested shared by other employees — for the Centre to reconsider its decision.