It’s official. India tops the list of countries where people die from diseases resulting from long working hours. In 2016, over 2 lakh people lost their lives due to overwork, while in 2023, close to 2,500 suicides were attributed to work-related stress. Data from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) reveals that more than half of Indians work over 49 hours a week, with employees in technology, professional services, and scientific research sectors clocking up to 56 hours. Younger workers often work harder than their older counterparts, defying the assumption that the older generation has a stronger work ethic.

But here’s the catch — despite these long hours, productivity remains alarmingly low. Every hour of work contributes only USD 8 to India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), compared to nearly twice that from a Chinese worker.

So, what are we doing wrong? Perhaps the better question is, what aren’t we doing right?

The problem: More hours, less output

Historically, India's labour market has suffered from an imbalance between job supply and demand. Disguised unemployment was common, with more people assigned to tasks that fewer persons could accomplish. It was better to offer some employment, even if the role wasn’t fully optimised, than to leave individuals jobless.

The private sector's resurgence in the 1990s challenged this paradigm. New economy companies employed fewer people and incentivised them to work overtime, initially driving strong results. However, this model normalised overwork without addressing issues like scalability and long-term sustainability.

As organisations grow, they typically implement systems and processes to repeat the success demonstrated by smaller teams. Yet, they often fail to tweak basic operating models and working conditions to suit this new reality. Having the right systems and processes should reduce the time spent at work, not increase it. But in many organisations, this isn't the case. 

Studies show that larger the teams, the higher the ineffectiveness if one didn’t change the operating model. What is observed increasingly in large corporates is no different. Employees, accustomed to long hours, often delay tasks or pile on unrelated work. The result is a vicious cycle of overwork and diminishing returns.

In my leadership stints, I was tasked with scaling business functions to meet ambitious organisational goals, often with constraints, and had to think out of the box. Rather than adding more hours to the day, we focused on building systems that allowed us to work smarter and be more effective. It wasn’t easy, but the results were telling — our output improved without pushing the team to the brink. Every year, we were able to introduce and implement two new ideas, while managing costs and building on existing workflows. 

The solution: Rethinking productivity from the ground up

Decades of evaluating employees based on their 'presence' rather than their effectiveness cannot be undone overnight. But there are steps organisations can take to address this issue iteratively.

1. Cascading pressure to perform
When leaders set unrealistic goals and pass them down without offering guidance, these goals lose clarity as they cascade through the organisation. Everyone suddenly finds themselves chasing a target without a clear strategy to achieve it. In such situations, employees often work long hours, hoping their effort will count for something, even if results don't. 

Most of my career, I have worked with CEOs and Business Heads helping them translate revenue targets and organisational vision into SMART goals for teams to accomplish. Teams who knew what they were working towards had the least chance of burnout, whereas those who didn’t saw attrition. To ensure unrealistic goals do not become the norm, Boards must take cognisance of targets that are unlikely to be met with the current operating model and hold CEOs accountable. 

2. Investing in technology for productivity gains
There’s often resistance to adopting technology for fear of job loss, especially in countries like India with large workforces. Automating tasks can raise concerns about redundancies, while organisations may shy away from investing in technology because, in the short term, hiring people is cheaper. But the long-term costs of this mindset are clear — slower processes, more manual intervention, and ultimately, lower productivity. Such a situation also breeds information asymmetry and creates power structures, stalling growth. 

Therefore, the focus should be on empowering employees to perform high-value work while technology handles the grunt work. Post-COVID, I inculcated a culture in my team of automating 30% of tasks year-on year, leaving much needed time for strategic thinking and innovation. This made my teams recognise and do the kind of work that moved the needle, rather than tick off to-do lists. 

Where organisations appear reluctant to make such a change, investors can play a key role by seeking information on technology investments that directly improve employee productivity, alongside traditional metrics like headcount.

3. Fixing skewed employment contracts
Most Indian employment contracts favour the employer, offering little flexibility to employees regarding working hours. Employees often work well beyond their contracted hours without additional compensation. The notion that variable pay compensates for overwork is, at best, debatable. 

Companies must rethink employment contracts to set realistic upper limits on working hours or offer employees the option to work as contractors or consultants. This allows employees to manage their time better and seek additional income sources, promoting both fairness and productivity.

Changing the narrative around overwork

None of these changes can occur without leadership intent. Where overwork is glorified by leaders, there must be a shift in culture. Media outlets should stop lionising CEOs who boast about overworking and focus on highlighting leaders who foster sustainable work environments. Teams behind the success of the leader must equally be in the limelight to set expectations right. Investors, too, must be empowered to question unsustainable business practices that overburden employees without improving productivity.

Productive, engaged employees drive business success, not overworked, burned-out ones. Leaders and organisations must recognise that simply putting in more time doesn’t yield better results. Instead, by focusing on smart work practices, investing in technology, and setting realistic targets, we can unlock true productivity. India has the potential to rise from being a nation of overworked employees to one of the most productive workforces in the world, but only if we have the courage to rethink how we work.

Views expressed are the author's own.

Archana Venkat is a growth advisor with a track record in driving growth strategies through sales, marketing, and operations transformation at B2B organisations.