The debate over working hours flared up after Infosys Co-founder N R Narayana Murthy called for 14-hour workdays.
Across India's bustling corporate corridors, the boundaries between work and life are blurring fast.
Even as states such as Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra and Odisha move to extend working hours in the name of productivity and reform, a small but significant countercurrent is emerging from Kerala that has caught the nation's attention.
A private Member's Bill tabled in the Kerala assembly, the Right to Disconnect Bill, 2025, seeks to reclaim what its proponent calls a fundamental right to rest and dignity for private-sector workers.
Introduced by N Jayaraj, chief whip of the Kerala legislative assembly and Kerala Congress (M) MLA from Kanjirappally, the Bill proposes that employees should have the legal right to switch off after hours -- to ignore calls, emails, online meetings, or late-night messages once the day's work is done.
When contacted by Business Standard, Kerala's Industries Minister P Rajeev was quick to clarify that the state government has no plans yet to implement the proposal.
"There is no government Bill in this regard. It is only a private member Bill," he said.
Jayaraj, however, remains confident that India will one day follow the lead of developed nations.
"A lot of employees are getting affected by job stress in the private sector. This is a global practice and part of basic job rights. We should also implement this nationally," said Jayaraj.
The concept is not new. France's supreme court first enshrined the 'right to disconnect' for private sector employees in 2001.
Since then, countries including Italy, Spain, Belgium, Slovakia, Portugal, Argentina, Canada, Germany, and Australia have followed suit.
Yet in India, states are veering in the opposite direction, expanding working hours in pursuit of higher scores on the 'Ease of Doing Business' index.
The push for longer hours
The debate over working hours flared up after Infosys Co-Founder N R Narayana Murthy called for 14-hour workdays and also expressed disappointment over India's shift from a six-day to a five-day work week in 1986.
His remarks ignited a nationwide conversation about productivity and burnout.
Soon after, several states began rolling out reforms to extend workdays and loosen labour laws.
Maharashtra's cabinet approved amendments to the Factories Act, 1948, increasing daily working hours from nine to 12.
State Labour Minister Akash Fundkar hailed it as a measure that would give corporates 'more flexibility' while offering higher pay for extra hours.
But not everyone is convinced. Karnataka saw fierce resistance when it sought to extend hours in the IT, ITeS, and BPO sectors.
The Karnataka State IT/ITeS Employees Union (KITU) led protests, warning of the human cost.
'Deaths and suicides due to excessive work pressure are becoming common in the IT sector.
'The recent suicide of a software engineer at Ola's artificial intelligence unit in Bengaluru, due to extreme work pressure, underlines this situation.
'Increasing working hours further aggravates this,' said Suhas Adiga, KITU general secretary, in a statement.
Andhra Pradesh too has amended its Factories Act to allow up to 10-hour shifts, while Telangana has permitted commercial establishments to raise daily limits from eight to 10 hours.
In September, Odisha extended the workday from nine to 10 hours and allowed women to work night shifts.
"These steps are being taken in the name of reform," Jayaraj observed, "but they are affecting employees' mental health."
These so-called reforms are not without precedent.
In 2023, Karnataka attempted a similar extension, sparking mass protests amid media reports that tech giants such as Apple and Foxconn had pushed for 12-hour shifts to enable round-the-clock production.
Tamil Nadu's attempt to follow suit was quickly shelved after backlash from Opposition parties and trade unions.
The case for disconnection
Kerala's proposal comes against a grim backdrop of overwork and stress.
The death of Anna Sebastian, a 26-year-old chartered accountant from Kerala working at a Big Four firm (EY) in Pune, drew national attention to the pressures young professionals face.
A 2024 State of Emotional Well-being Report revealed that more than 90 per cent of corporate employees under 25 show signs of anxiety, compared to 67 per cent among those over 45.
Data from CIEL HR Services shows that half of employees in sectors such as banking, financial services, insurance, consulting, and accounting clock over 50 hours a week, often far more during peak periods.
"When we asked them how they would rate their work pressure levels, employees working in these sectors said they are frequently exhausted or burned out," said Aditya Narayan Mishra, CEO, CIEL HR Services.
For Jayaraj, this is precisely creating the necessity to give employees the right to disconnect to after work.
"This is a basic right for any employee. I believe that Parliament should take this up soon to ensure that our workforce is not misused," he added.
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff
