Yes, we all signed up for parenting, we knew it wasn’t easy.
We knew it was no cake walk and there were going to be many days (and nights) that would test our patience and strength.
And yet, we work through each day, as a fraternity, helping ourselves in our pursuit of #SimplifyingParenting. We are requesting governments and senior organisations to take notice of the help we need as parents and how they can make it easier for working parents who face the harshest managers both at work and at home! And yet, in 2025, we hear comments like below!
L&T CMD recently made a statement that made eyes roll and people take stock of “what really matters” anymore. In an interview, he was defending the burnout culture by advocating a 90-hour work week and said he would ideally want “people to work on Sundays too!'”. “How long can you stare at your wife?” he had asked in the interview that’s making people question what’s the limit to “being a working parent” in today’s times.
As someone who’s been in the professional world for over 19 years and managed to nurture my passion while raising my kids, such remarks feel like a slap in the face to working parents everywhere.
The Glaring Gaps In Indian Childcare Support System
In a country like India, where childcare support is still catching up and parents are constantly juggling the demands of raising children and managing their work lives, I can’t help but wonder: how long are we going to endorse statements that glorify burnout and hustle culture?
Why are we expected to work as though we don’t have kids to care for, and raise kids as though we don’t have jobs to do? Why is this tightrope walk, filled with judgement, exhaustion, and hurdles, still so celebrated? Statements like these not only disregard the very real mental and physical toll of such a lifestyle but also perpetuate a cycle that unfairly burdens not just workers but their entire support system.
I find myself questioning whether parenting is even taken seriously in our country. Why is it still treated as a secondary responsibility—something to squeeze into the cracks of our day, after “hustling” at work for 90 hours? And for what? To prove our dedication? To climb the corporate ladder at the cost of our health and family lives?
The glorification of hustle culture isn’t just tone-deaf; it’s dangerous. It dismisses the need for work-life balance as a luxury rather than recognizing it as a basic demand.
And let’s be real: no amount of success can make up for the missed bedtime stories, the school events skipped, or the personal health ignored. Are we forgetting the basics?
I am all for dreaming big, pursuing your passion and breaking the glass ceilings. I really am. But when you set such standards or expectations in a society, do we foresee the repercussions of it and the spillover effect it has on the families and the support system? Aren’t they a big part of a “successful workforce” too?
As a parent, a professional, and a human being, I reject the idea that burnout is a badge of honour. It’s time we stop normalizing statements like these and start advocating for healthier, more balanced ways to work and live. Because at the end of the day, no job is worth the cost of our well-being or the relationships that matter most.
What are your thoughts on this? Do you agree or you don’t? Would love to hear your thoughts on this.
Mansi Zaveri
KSP Team
Namratha Varadharajan
Janani S Koushik
Mansi Zaveri
Mansi Zaveri
