“20 years ago, Saturday off seemed impossible.
5 years ago, remote work seemed impossible.
Tomorrow, no emails after 6 PM might be the new “wishful” normal in India.
June 3, 1985 changed everything for Indian workers.
The government introduced the 5-day work week. People thought it would destroy productivity.
Fast forward to 2025, and nobody questions Saturday offs anymore.
The same thing happened with remote work.
Before 2020, companies claimed employees would slack off at home. Today, 12.7% of Indian employees work fully remote, and 28.2% follow hybrid models.
But here’s where we’re stuck:
→ 88% of Indian employees get work calls outside office hours
The reality looks like this –
📌 A chairman asked employees to work 90-hour weeks and said “”How long can you stare at your wife on Sunday?””
📌 A Bank manager told an employee whose mother died: “”Go attend it and come back. Everybody’s mother dies.””
Reddit, Inc. is full of screenshots showing Indian managers demanding weekend work through WhatsApp to avoid official email trails.
But, some companies are setting boundaries:
➜ Axis Bank has a “”7UP”” policy – no work calls after 7 PM or on weekends.
➜ Infosys sends automated warnings to employees working beyond 9.15 hours.
➜ Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd blocks systems post 8pm, and on weekends
What seems impossible today becomes standard tomorrow.
Work-life boundaries will happen when we collectively demand it.
Maybe our kids will laugh at the idea of answering work emails at midnight.
Change doesn’t happen because companies suddenly care.
It happens when enough people say “”enough.””
Are you ready to set boundaries, or will you wait another 20 years?”