90-Hour Work Culture: A Recipe For Not Just Burnout But Also Heart Attack, Brain Fog and More

Work-life Balance:  The debate about toxic work culture, laboursomely long working hours, and living life in breaks is not a new one. The extent to which the nuisance of working more to be better is stretched amazes its listeners even more. 

Most recently it was the Larsen & Turbo chairman SN Subrahmanyan who proposed the youth and salaried white-collar employees work on Sundays because after all “how long can you stare at your wife?”

The trolls showed no mercy on his unsympathetic remarks lacking empathy, and also grilled him for promoting what they call “a recipe for burnout”. 

No wonder, working long and laborious hours like 70 and now 90 is non-sensical, leading to burnout aka reduced productivity and loss of gratification from one’s work but the consequences of working for 90 hours do not conclude on burnout. 

Let’s delve into the physical and mental health implications of working for 90 hours on living and breathing employees.

Physical health consequences of 90-hour work culture 

If all of us did take the advice of the L&T chairman, this is what would happen to our physical health. Let’s put some data in perspective first. 

According to the World Labour Organisation, India is the second most overworked country in the world.

In a 2021 report by, the World Health Organisation, the organization elaborated that people can stay productive for as long as 50 hours continuously. The impact of working for 55 hours or more can be seen in their productivity, heart health, and strokes.  

The report clarified working more than 55 hours a week increases the risk of stroke by 35% and death from heart disease by 17%. A consensus for a productive workweek stands around 40 hours. 

GQ India quoted a report by TIME magazine, revealing working more than 45 hours increases the chance of having diabetes as skipping meals during long working hours imbalances the blood sugar levels.

Among the very obvious consequences are musculoskeletal problems like back pain, neck pain, poor posture, repetitive strain injuries, chronic fatigue, sleep deprivation, and reduced life expectancy.

Mental health consequences of 90-hour work culture 

Beginning to cite the mental health consequences of working incessantly with no breaks is an infinite task but let’s take some of it into consideration. 

Burnout is the most talked about after-effect of working long hours with insufficient breaks. It can lead to depression, anxiety, lack of gratification, and self-belief. 

With reduced hours of rest and sleep, the body's cortisol levels are leading to brain fog.

The isolation that follows can lead to reduced cognitive functions like lacking problem-solving skills, chronic fatigue and stress, imposter syndrome, and the risk of substance abuse. No wonder the corporate hubs boast of having a smoke room.