Your phone buzzes at 9 PM on a Friday. It’s your manager. Again. That spreadsheet apparently can’t wait until Monday. If you’re an Indian professional, you’ve lived this scenario more times than you can count.
The Corporate Shooketh
Last July, something shook corporate India to its core. Anna Sebastian Perayil, just 26 and fresh out of college, died four months into her first job at Ernst & Young’s Pune office. Her mother’s viral letter described how her daughter was drowning in work, couldn’t sleep, and felt anxious constantly. Anna spent her last two days with family still stressed about work, proving to be the mirror held up to India’s toxic hustle culture.
In December 2025, MP Supriya Sule introduced the Right to Disconnect Bill. The concept is straightforward: employees should legally ignore work calls, emails, and WhatsApp messages after office hours without getting fired, demoted, or penalized.
The bill proposes establishing an authority to ensure compliance. Businesses with ten or more employees would need to clearly define acceptable after-hours contact, and overtime work would require compensation.
What the statistics depict
Indians aren’t just working hard but are grinding themselves down. We average 46.7 hours weekly. Americans work 38 hours. Japanese workers, stereotyped as workaholics, work 36.6 hours. Indian women in IT and auditing pull over 55 hours weekly: the highest globally.
Recent surveys reveal 88% of Indian employees get contacted outside work hours. Worse, 85% receive messages during sick leave or vacation. And 79% of workers fear ignoring these messages will hurt their careers, so they respond every single time.
The Hidden Toll on Employee Wellbeing
Over three-quarters of Indian employees report chronic workplace stress. Research shows that merely expecting evening work calls raises stress hormones to levels matching chronic job stress. You don’t need to take the call, just anticipating it disrupts sleep and health.
Burnout affects one in three Asian employees, with women and frontline workers hit hardest. The WHO estimates workplace stress costs 12 billion working days globally annually.
Will This Bill Actually Pass?
It’s challenging. As a private member’s bill without government backing, most die in committee. But the conversation matters. Thirteen countries including France, Australia, Belgium, and Portugal already have similar laws.
Emergency services, hospitals, and 24/7 operations need special considerations. Terms like “emergency” and “working hours” require clear definitions. Some companies will resist. But continuing as we are isn’t working, it’s literally costing lives.
The Threshold of Change
Remember when Infosys founder Narayana Murthy suggested young Indians work 70-hour weeks? That sparked massive debate but revealed how ingrained this mentality is. We treat exhaustion like a badge of honor, celebrate midnight email replies, and promote those who never say no.
The Right to Disconnect Bill might not be perfect. It might not even pass. But it represents crucial recognition, which is now grained through this Bill.
India’s Constitution already supports this through Article 38, which mandates state promotion of people’s welfare, and Article 39(e), directing policy toward securing workers’ health. A similar bill was introduced in 2018 but failed to gain traction. This time feels different because of increased awareness following workplace tragedies.
Sule emphasizes via X yesterday, “It fosters a better quality of life and a healthier work-life balance by reducing the burnout caused by today’s digital culture.”
Ishwarya Dhube is a third-year BBA LLB student who combines academic rigor with practical experience gained through multiple legal internships. Her work spans various areas of law, allowing her to develop a comprehensive understanding of legal practice. Ishwarya specializes in legal writing and analysis, bringing both business acumen and hands-on legal experience to her work.
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