When 10 Becomes the New 9

Are Longer Working-Hours Reforms Sliding into Worker Fatigue?

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Several states are advancing labour-law reforms to relax daily working-hour caps and raise overtime limits for certain sectors. Governments and employers promote these changes as steps toward greater flexibility, competitiveness (China+1), and ease of doing business. However, this push has ignited sharp criticism over the overshadowed consequences-escalating fatigue, health hazards, safety risks, and the erosion of work-life balance. In the context of long commutes, persistent unemployment, and sectors already under pressure, the question is: are we sacrificing sustainable labour standards for short-term productivity gains?

What's Changing-and Where?

Recent amendments favour extending working hours:

• In Telangana, commercial establishments (excluding shops) can now operate 10 hours daily with a 48-hour weekly cap. Overtime pay is mandated beyond 48 hours, with required rest breaks after six hours and a maximum 12-hour work "spread" including intervals.

• Uttar Pradesh's Factories (Amendment) Act permits up to 12 daily working hours in factories while keeping the 48-hour weekly limit. Some IT/ITeS establishments are exempt from working-hour restrictions, allowing longer shifts under conditions. Gujarat, MP   and Rajasthan too permit 12-hour shifts in factories

• Tamil Nadu allows shops and establishments with 10+ employees to operate 24x7 for three years, with conditions capping daily hours at 10 and weekly hours at 50, plus mandated safety and rest provisions.

• In Maharashtra the daily working hours for shops and commercial establishments has been increased to 10 hours from 9 hours (subject to the overall cap of 48 hours without overtime) and the maximum overtime to 144 hours per week from 125 hours.

• Other states, including Karnataka, are reportedly advancing similar reforms. Telangana, for example, aligns its reforms with the central government's "Ease of Doing Business" agenda and regional trends.

  
  

The Health, Safety, and Social Risk Ledger

While employer flexibility and overtime premiums are highlighted, extensive evidence warns against the fallout of extended hours:

• The Economic Survey (2024-25) cautions that working over 60 hours a week can be detrimental to mental well-being and productivity.

• International data from the International Labour Organization and WHO link working 55+ hours weekly with higher risks of stroke and ischemic heart disease compared to standard 35-40 hour weeks.

  
  

• Studies in India's informal sectors show longer hours correlate with occupational injuries, fatigue, and reduced work precision.

  
  

Research in manufacturing warns that accidents spike toward the end of extended shifts when exhaustion sets in, often under pressure to meet quotas. A Study  by the NGO Safe in India Foundation (CRUSHED 2025) found that in automotive-supply chains, 76 % of injured workers worked over 60 hours/week, and accidents were linked to fatigue and inadequate safeguards.

Overtime work fosters unhealthy habits that reduce productivity and undermine teamwork and workplace culture.

Research on the long-term impact of extending working hours on factor productivity presents mixed but largely cautionary findings:

1. Non-linear Relationship Between Hours and Productivity:?Studies indicate a non-linear relationship where productivity initially rises with longer hours but reaches a point of diminishing marginal returns. After a certain threshold, usually around 40-50 hours per week, additional hours lead to fatigue, reduced concentration, and lower output per hour worked. This phenomenon has been documented in multiple studies, including research by Pencavel (2016) and others, showing that while output may increase, productivity per hour declines beyond certain working time limits.

2. Initial Gains vs. Long-term Declines:?Some research finds short-term productivity increases when hours increase, particularly due to more output time. However, prolonged longer hours contribute to health issues, mental fatigue, and higher accident rates, which erode overall productivity long-term. For example, research summarized by Golden (2012) and Collewet & Sauermann (2017) states extended hours can eventually cause a decline in worker efficiency and output quality.

3. Effects on Worker Well-being and Safety:?Extended working hours are linked with higher risks of health problems (stroke, cardiovascular diseases), increased workplace accidents, and absenteeism, all negatively impacting long-term productivity. Overtime work has been shown to cause lower efficiency per hour and higher error rates, which affect team output adversely. Stanford University research and occupational health studies reflect that productivity per hour significantly drops after 50 weekly hours and sharply declines past 60 hours.

4. Comparative International Evidence: Countries with shorter average working hours, like the Netherlands, report higher labour productivity than those with longer hours, like South Korea, suggesting that efficiency and not just time contribute to output. OECD data provide evidence that longer hours don't necessarily correlate with higher productivity per unit time.

5. Emerging Models Favor Reduced Hours:?The shift toward a four-day workweek or reduced hours without pay cuts has shown productivity increases in various trials, driven by improved focus, motivation, and work-life balance. Companies implementing these models report better employee well-being and sustained or improved output.

   
   

In summary, research consistently shows that extending working hours can increase output in the short run but tends to reduce hourly productivity and overall long-term factor productivity due to fatigue and health effects.

Sustainable productivity gains tend to be achieved by optimizing, not maximizing, working hours and by improving working conditions, not by simply lengthening the workweek.

Commutes and Work-Life Balance: A Longer Day for Workers

For many workers, especially in metros, long and tiring commutes of two to three hours add to extended work hours, effectively lengthening their workday and intensifying fatigue. This extended burden increases the chance of errors and accidents but remains overlooked in labour regulations. Moreover, many employers prefer overtime for existing staff over hiring new workers, as overtime wages (on a low basic wage base) are excluded from retiral benefits minimising the overall cost impact. But this reduces wage growth, suppresses job creation, and normalises longer working hours. For employees struggling to maintain work-life balance, predictable schedules and reasonable commutes are crucial-but such reforms make balance harder to achieve.

Are These Reforms Right for Our Times?

From a business perspective, extended hours may fill production gaps, provide flexibility for fluctuating demand, and reduce labour costs, fitting states' ambitions to become investment-friendly manufacturing hubs.

However, these reforms risk undermining worker welfare. With stretched commutes, low wages, and growing risks to health and safety, increasing permissible hours is a blunt instrument. Longer hours may not reflect voluntary overtime but rather heightened employer expectations, threatening well-being and productivity in the long run by raising accidents, absenteeism, and burnout.

"Productive employment" demands more than extra hours-it requires adequate staffing, ergonomic scheduling, rest, and genuine worker agency.

Towards a More Balanced Path

Extended hours should not become the default policy. Instead, a nuanced strategy must combine:

• Enforced weekly hour caps and controls on consecutive night shifts, with mandatory rest and fatigue monitoring;

• Stricter safeguards in high-risk industries with high accident potential;

• Investment in training, mandatory safety equipment, and supervision to reduce workplace injuries;

• Incentives for hiring new staff rather than relying on overtime-heavy models;

• Recognition of commute time as part of the work burden, promoting worker housing closer to workplaces, and flexible timings;

• Transparent reporting linking hours and fatigue to accidents, with regulatory reviews tied to safety outcomes; Clear, voluntary consent from workers on longer hours, free from implicit coercion.

  
  

A radical overhaul of the Factories Act of 1948 vintage.

Reforming labour laws to meet 21st-century demands is commendable. But raising daily permissible hours from nine to ten (or twelve) signals more than a technical adjustment-it reflects how worker time, health, and dignity are valued.

In a country where long commutes, family responsibilities, and non-work burdens eat into personal time, an extra hour at work may feel like two. If these reforms aim to enhance output without compromising worker welfare, they must be accompanied by robust safeguards, enforceable protections, and a cultural shift in how labour, health, and productivity are approached.

Without these, the reforms risk eroding the balance on which sustainable growth depends.

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