‘My Wife Is Wonderful, I Love Staring At Her’: Anand Mahindra On L&T Chief’s 90-Hour Work Week Remark

Industrialist Anand Mahindra took a dig at Larsen & Toubro’s (L&T) chairman SN Subrahmanyan’s 90-hour workweek’ remark on Saturday, saying the focus should be on the quality of the work and not how many hours should be put in.

Speaking to Firstpost Managing Editor Palki Sharma at the Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue 2025, the chairman of Mahindra Group was asked how he managed his time to maintain a strong presence on social media.

Giving his two cents on how many hours he works in a week, Mahindra said, “This is what I wanted to avoid. I don’t want it to be about time. I don’t want it to be about quantity. Ask me about the quality of my work. Don’t ask me how many hours I have worked.”

His remarks came in response to Subrahmanyan’s recent remarks, where he suggested that employees should be willing to work extended hours, even on Sundays. He questioned how long one could “stare at your wife” and expressed regret that he could not mandate Sunday work, stating, “If I can make you work on Sundays, I will be more happy because I work on Sundays.”

‘My Wife Is Wonderful’
When asked about his social media presence, Mahindra took a jibe at Subrahmanyan’s ‘stare at your wife’ remark. “I often get asked how much time I have to spend on social media. I want to tell people that I am on X or social media not because I am lonely,” he said.

“My wife is wonderful, I love staring at her. So, I am not here to make friends, I am here because social media is an amazing business tool. How in one platform, I get feedback from 11 million people,” Mahindra added.

The industrialist also said that one can only make better decisions when they have a holistic life. ““If you are not spending time at home or with friends and if you are not reading and don’t have time to reflect, how will you bring the inputs into making the right decisions?” he said.

Subrahmanyan’s remarks sparked outrage, with many arguing that they promote an unhealthy work culture and undermine the importance of work-life balance. Many have also raised concerns about the impact on employees’ mental health and personal relationships.

The backlash mirrors similar comments made by Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy, who also suggested a demanding 70-hour workweek for young employees.