Is it possible to work 14 hours per day? Most companies follow 8-9 hour shifts due to...

Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy last year advised Indian youth to work for 70 hours a week to boost the country's economy. Now Karnataka Labour Minister Santosh Lad proposed to extend the work hours of employees of the IT sector to 14 hours a day.

However, the IT industry association Nasscom said categorically they support the 48-hour workweek in India. They said they had not asked for a 14-hour workday limit or a 70-hour workweek.

“As Nasscom, we have not requested a 14-hour workday limit or a 70-hour workweek. We have not seen a copy of the Bill in Karnataka, so cannot comment on it. We fully support the 48-hour work week, which is the standard across the country,” said Ashish Aggarwal, vice president & head of Public Policy, Nasscom.

Aggarwal further added, “All we have asked of the states and the central government is to consider some flexibility within this 48-hour limit. This would help companies with a pan-India presence to standardise their operations. In Karnataka, we had a similar discussion with the IT department a few months ago. We did not, however, have a meeting with the labor department on this topic.”

IT sector unions have come out in public in protest against the move, calling it 'inhuman' and having implications on 2 million workers in the state.

According to the KITU, In a meeting called by the labour department with different sector players, the proposal to change the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishment Act to allow a 14-hour working day was tabled.

If implemented, the extended working time -- 70 hours a week -- will have the biggest impact on Bengaluru, the state capital known as the IT hub of the country.

While most of the companies in India have a policy to work nine-hour a day, is the maximum an organization can make its employees work.

This isn't the case when there are six working days in a week because the most hours a worker can be required to put in a week is 48. But, when people are willing to put in extra time—usually because of the constant pressure of partially fulfilled deadlines, but sometimes occasionally because of financial gain or interest.

14 hours a day?

Indeed conducted an important study, which took place during the COVID-19 period when most employees were working from home. This study found that working hours from home are more than in the office.

According to a survey by Indeed, 52% of employees who work more than 9 hours a day experience burnout. Overwork can also lead to health problems, such as lack of sleep, increased risk of stroke, heart disease, and depression.

According to a CNBC report, 50% of employees are working in companies with fewer employees, where they have to work extra hours due to the pressure to maintain high performance. Due to this, employees have to spend more time not only to complete their work but also the work of other team members. In such a situation, more work every day can also cause many problems.

8 hours work, 8 hours recreation, 8 hours rest

During the Industrial Revolution between 1760 and 1840, workers were forced to work up to 16 hours a day. They had to work extremely hard and long hours, which affected their productivity and health. British human rights activist Robert Owen initiated the change by coining the slogan "8 hours work, 8 hours recreation, 8 hours rest."

First employers to institute an eight-hour-a-day

In 1926, Ford Motor Company become one of the first employers to institute an eight-hour-a-day, five-day workweek. The result was that the productivity of labor and the company's profits increased. This success inspired other companies to adopt the same strategy. It is said that the culture of 8 or 9 hour shifts started from here.

Working hours

In the olden times, the way humans worked was quite different, but modern jobs have brought about a big change in the everyday lifestyle of humans. Nowadays, in many jobs with busy working hours, people spend 14-15 hours in the office.

According to the data, there were no fixed working hours for humans till the 19th century. But with time, working hours kept decreasing, especially in rich countries. Now the trend of working 6 hours a day and 4 days a week is increasing.

In 1870, the average annual working hours in the US were 3000 hours, which was 60 to 70 hours per week. Today, it has dropped to 1700 hours, which is an average of 7 to 8 hours per day with a 5-day weekly system.

According to the research report of economics historian Michael Huberman and Crins Minns, today the working hours in Germany have decreased by 60% compared to 1870. In Britain it has decreased by 40%.