Do new labour codes support 72-hour work week idea? Here's the truth

The 72-hour work week has been a topic of debate. Some industry leaders support the idea, while many young professionals strongly oppose it. Do new labour codes support it?

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The 72-hour work week debate is back in trend. Several videos circulating on social media claiming that the government is mandating employees to work 12 hours a day, totalling 72 hours per week under new labour codes.

 

However, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) on Tuesday fact-checked these claims, saying the working hours are capped at 48 hours per week.

 

"The claim is misleading... Under the recently introduced #labourcode, normal working hours are capped at 8 -12 hours per day and 48 hours per week," the PIB said in a post.

 

It further added that under the new labour codes, the flexibility of 12-hour workdays is permitted for up to 4 days a week, with the remaining three days being paid holidays. However, these 12-hour shifts are supposed to include intervals or spread-overs.

 

PIB also added that overtime will be permitted only with the worker's consent, and employers will have to pay all employees overtime wages at least twice the normal rate for any work done beyond the regular working hours.

72-hour work week debate

The 72-hour work week has been a topic of debate for a long time. Some industry leaders support the idea, while many young professionals strongly oppose it, calling it unhealthy and toxic. The discussions first began when Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy suggested that young people should work 72 hours a week and not worry about work-life balance.

 

Murthy recently repeated his view, comparing it to China’s well-known 996 culture, where people work from 9 am to 9 pm, six days a week. Defending his stand, he said that no person, community, or country can succeed without hard work. “In China, they say 9-9-6… that is 72 hours a week,” he said.

 

In an interview with Republic TV, Murthy also made strong remarks about India’s work culture, saying people should "get a life first and then worry about work-life balance."

 

However, China's 996 culture resulted in significant burnout and even pushed talent out of the big cities in China. According to a Bloomberg report published last year, weary of the so-called 996 culture, a growing number of young professionals were willing to trade a fast-paced, high-pressure career in big cities for a slower, more relaxed life in small towns.