The debate on work-life balance came to the fore again after Supreme Court Justice Aravind Kumar on Saturday urged young lawyers not to take weekends off in the early stages of their careers. He argued that dedication to one’s profession is essential and that limiting working hours may not help achieve long-term goals.
“You should be dedicated to your profession and only if you are dedicated to what you are doing, the results will be encouraging,” Justice Kumar said, according to a report in the Bar and Bench.
“No holidays in our time,” says Justice Kumar
“I appeal to all the youth – I have seen this in Delhi, Mumbai and Calcutta – Sundays are non-working and Saturday evenings are free. We had no holidays in Bangalore,” he said.
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Speaking at the 5th edition of the ICA International Conference, the judge emphasized that dedication is the key to career growth and warned that shorter working hours can limit learning and experience.
He shares personal experiences from his early career
Drawing on his own journey, Justice Kumar noted that his early years at the bar involved working on Saturdays and Sundays.
“We had no holidays in Bangalore. The only holiday was Sunday, and even then we worked until 4:30 p.m. Otherwise, we worked all the time… we would leave at 11:30 p.m. and sometimes as late as 1:30 a.m.,” he said.
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He also remembered attending a court hearing shortly after the wedding. “You were married the day before yesterday and here you are,” he said.
He explained his decision, adding: “I didn’t want to lose my train of thought… I wanted to learn.”
The notes spark an online discussion about work-life balance
The judge’s remarks reignited the work-life balance debate on social media, with several X users drawing parallels with Infosys founder Narayana Murthy, who previously advocated 70-hour work weeks for nation-building, sparking widespread backlash.
More recently, in 2025, Larsen & Toubro Chairman SN Subrahmanyan courted controversy with his remarks on extended working hours. When asked during an interaction with employees why the multibillion-dollar conglomerate still required employees to work on Saturdays, he said, “I’m sorry I can’t make you work on Sundays. If I could, I’d be happier because I work on Sundays.”
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Meanwhile, Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla has consistently maintained that “eight hours a day is enough” for work.
“I would say I work eight hours a day – sometimes weekends if needed. There may be days when I go to the slopes; it depends. There were also times when I worked 16 hours a day. During Covid-19 I came home at 11pm. So it all depends on the journey and the stage you are at.
If you are an entrepreneur building your business, you should definitely work hard and do whatever it takes. Then at a higher level, it’s about the quality of the work – working smartly and strategically,” Poonawalla said last year.
