Larsen & Toubro (L&T) chairman SN Subrahmanyan has reignited the debate on social media about long work hours by suggesting that employees should work up to 90 hours a week, including Sundays, to maintain a competitive edge. In recent months, many Indian business leaders, including Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy and Shaadi.com CEO and Shark Tank India judge Anupam Mittal, have also echoed the same views. But while India collectively debates the feasibility of such marathon work schedules, the International Labour Organisation reported that India already has a front row in the global overwork arena.
India is ranked 13th among the world's most overworked countries, ILO revealed. The organisation also stated that on average Indian employees work 46.7 hours each week, with 51% of India's workforce working 49 or more hours each week, ranking India second among countries with the highest rates of prolonged working hours.
Here are the top 10 countries with the most extended working hours, as reported by ILO.
- Despite having a small population, people in Bhutan top the chart with the most amount of working hours in the world. Employees in Bhutan work for roughly 54.4 hours per week.
- United Arab Emirates (UAE) is next on the list where employees work for 50.9 hours per week to drive their economy.
- In Lesotho, people work for 50.4 hours every week which makes it the third country with the highest working hours per week in the world.
- Congo has been ranked fourth on the list, where employees work for 48.6 hours per week.
- Qatar is next on the list where employees have an average work week of 48 hours.
- At number six, we have Liberia where employees work for 47.7 hours per week to drive their economy.
- Next on the list is Mauritania where people work for 47.6 hours per week.
- At number eight we have Lebanon, where people work for 47.6 hours per week on average.
- In Mongolia, employees work for 47.3 hours per week, per the International Labour Organisation.
- At number 10, we have Jordan where people work for 47 hours per week on average.
Meanwhile, according to ILO, Vanuatu has emerged as the country with the fewest average working hours per employed person. Employees in Vanuatu work an average of only 24.7 hours per week, which is the lowest of any of the countries analysed. Nations like Kiribati (27.3 hours) and Micronesia (30.4 hours) also seem to be living their best lives with minimal overtime.
