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People should listen to their bodies and recognise when they need rest as prolonged overwork can lead to burnout and reduced efficiency, former WHO chief scientist and health ministry advisor Soumya Swaminathan has said. While intense work for short periods is possible, as seen during COVID-19, it is not sustainable in the long run, she told PTI in an interview. Swaminathan stressed that productivity depends more on work quality than hours spent. Asked about the impact of long working hours on human health, the former director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) told PTI: "I know a lot of people who work very hard. So, I think it is an individual thing and your body tells you when you are tired, so then you also have to listen to your body. You can really work hard, let's say for a few months. During COVID, we all did that, right? But could we have continued that for years together? I am not sure." "For those two-three years, we did it. We did not sleep much. W
Joining the debate on working hours, IT services company Capgemini India's chief executive Ashwin Yardi on Tuesday advocated 47.5 hours work per week, and was against sending e-mails to employees on weekends. He was speaking at Nasscom Technology and Leadership Forum (NTLF) here. "Forty seven and half hours. We have about nine hours a day and five days a week," Yardi said replying to a question on the ideal time to be put in by an employee per week. "My guiding principle for the last four years is don't send an e-mail on a weekend even if it is an escalation unless you know you can solve it on a weekend," he added. Acknowledging that sometimes he does work on weekends, Yardi said he desists from sending e-mails to employees, as there is no point just to give "grief" to an employee knowing well that the work cannot be done on a weekend. It can be noted that IT industry leader and Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy has been pitching for a 70-hour work week, while EPC major Lars
The Tamil Nadu Assembly on Friday passed the Factories (Amendment) Act 2023 providing flexible working hours for employees in factories across the State, amidst protests and claims by several parties that the Act would stretch the mandatory working hours to 12 hours from the present 8 hours duty. Industries Minister Thangam Thennarasu, however, assured that the total working hours in a week would remain unchanged for the workers who would now have the option to work for four days in a week and avail three days leave. "This would immensely benefit women workers," he claimed. "The remaining three days would be paid leave and the existing rules on leaves, overtime, salaries, etc., would remain unchanged," Labour Welfare Minister C V Ganesan said. Action would be taken against factories, which coerced their employees to work against their wishes, he clarified. The Ministers' clarification on the TN Factories Act, 2023, follows protests and a walkout by the Left parties, the Congress and