‘Progressive on paper or work-life Tetris?’: Indians remain skeptical of proposed 4-day workweek model

Labour and Employment Ministry Secretary Apurva Chandra highlights the increased flexibility this offers Indian employees, calling this move an “enabling provision in sync with the changing work culture”. With employee consent, a 12-hour workday can pave the way for three paid leaves a week.

But is this model sustainable, or does this reform hold power to reshape the work culture in our country?

Let’s talk sustainability

Nehaa K, head of corporate communications at PR firm The Other Circle, thinks this move sounds “progressive on paper” but is actually “work-life Tetris”. “If employees are burnt out by Thursday, what’s the Friday off really worth?” she asked.

Nehaa thinks the Indian work culture is not built for boundaries. “We are a ‘just one more email’ economy. Without structural changes in meetings, expectations, and manager training, this could become 12-hour workdays plus weekend catch-up,” she huffed, adding that if we are still measuring commitment by hours logged instead of impact delivered, the four-day work week is just performative reform.

The policy exists. But the culture shift is yet to come. 

Mini, a communications strategist at a leading Japanese MNC, agrees with her sentiment. “Productivity does not come from sitting at work longer; it comes from being mentally fresh,” she said. According to her, work-life balance will only improve if companies genuinely respect employees’ time and limits.

At Abha Ahad’s last job, she was working 12 hours, five days a week. Everyone was always tired and putting up the act of working after the eight-hour mark. “If a four-day workweek leads to a 32-hour work week, it could lead to better productivity compared to today’s state. But if it leads to a 12-hour workday to hit the weekly target hours, it is counter-productive,” she told indianexpress.com. With an eight-hour workday, most people hit six hours of productive work. Ahad, who works as a content lead at Inomy (a consumer tech company), thinks that will remain the case even if the work hours are 12.

Who really stands to benefit?

Rajeev Thakur, Director, Grassik Search, a pioneer in the Executive Search industry, thinks a four-day workweek with 12 hours a day is just not tenable in most industries in our country. India is known for its huge informal workforce, and cramming five days’ work into four is likely to result in excessive stress, he believes.

“While it may work in IT, IT services or consulting companies where output matters more than the hours logged in, industries like retail, hospitality, manufacturing and logistics, where coverage hours matter more than output, hybrid models like split shifts or rotating teams will matter more,” he said.

Anup Garg, Founder and Director of World of Circular Economy, a company that offers environmental services and sustainability solutions,  adds that knowledge-intensive and hybrid-friendly industries such as technology, consulting, finance, and sustainability services are well-positioned to benefit, while manufacturing and frontline service sectors may need tailored models. “Long hours without breaks are strongly correlated with stress, burnout, fatigue, and lower job satisfaction—outcomes that ultimately degrade quality of work,” he said.

A still from Tamasha. (Source: YouTube/@netflixindia)

So, what needs to change?

Anish Singh, co-founder of ATP (All Things People), a HR company, says that when roles are outcome-led, processes are efficient, and people are trusted, shorter weeks can improve both performance and well-being. Quoting research from large-scale trials in Iceland and the UK, he elaborates how a four-day workweek can sustain, and in some cases, even boost productivity when work is outcome-focused.

“In Australia and New Zealand, Unilever’s experience with flexible work reinforced that productivity doesn’t hinge on hours alone. It improves when teams are trusted, outcomes are clear, and well-being is thoughtfully designed in. But these gains come from redesigning work, not simply shortening the calendar,” he said.

Singh further illustrates that when employees see the fifth day as a privilege, they are often more focused and committed. However, these gains only materialise with careful work design and a change in management. The smartest approach is to pilot it with one team or business unit, learn what works, and then scale thoughtfully.

Studies by Gallup and Deloitte also show that employees with greater flexibility and control over their work report higher engagement, lower burnout, and better quality of output. Work-timing flexibility allows people to align tasks with their energy and life responsibilities. In conclusion, flexibility doesn’t reduce commitment, but helps increase ownership, focus, and the quality of work delivered.

Saraf Furniture adopted the 4 day work week model back in 2023. Founder and CEO Raghunandan Saraf shared what worked for their company. “When people have control of their work time, their stress is reduced, their work focus is improved, and their creativity is enhanced. When people can attend to their personal responsibilities, their motivation and engagement to work also improves,” he said. For them, it all boiled down to efficient time management skills and defined measures of success along with a culture of accountability.

For companies that provide operations or customer-facing services, Saraf reiterated the need to maintain service levels and delivery commitments in order to ensure “outcomes, quality, and customer satisfaction”.

Reality check

Asif Upadhye, Director at Never Grow Up, a work culture consultancy firm, echoes Saraf’s sentiments, mentioning that compressing a fixed assumption of productivity into fewer days does not automatically lead to better outcomes or justify an extra day off. Certain policies might look good on paper, but what they need is a strong dose of reality check.

“Our minds do not function like on and off switches. Optimum performance is driven by the quality of work, not the number of hours logged,” he said. Upadhye highlighted the real-life problems associated with a 12-hour workday design, which tends to ignore the realities of everyday life.

Many are caring for ageing parents, managing health needs, raising children, or navigating financial constraints that limit access to domestic support. When longer hours become the norm, he believes, the cost to mental well-being becomes real and cumulative. Work design needs to prioritise sustainable performances, instead, he added.

Even though the four-day workweek is optional by law, adapting it in an Indian environment could open up a Pandora’s box that Indian employees worry would unearth a lack of productivity based on longer “forced” working hours. Also, trying to adopt Western practices might not really align with Indian business mandates and goals.