The Government of Telangana has announced a new policy allowing employees in all commercial establishments (excluding shops) to work up to 10 hours a day, subject to specific labor safeguards, with an aim to improve the ease of doing business in the state. The decision, aimed at offering greater flexibility to businesses while ensuring worker protection, outlines that the total working hours for an employee must not exceed 48 hours in a week.

The government has mandated that any work performed beyond the 48-hour weekly limit must be compensated with overtime wages.

Additionally, if an employee works for more than six hours in a single day, they are entitled to take a rest break of 30 minutes.

The total work duration in a day, including overtime, must not exceed 12 hours under any circumstance. Furthermore, the new rules cap the maximum overtime at 144 hours per quarter.

Earlier this year, Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra also commented on working hour debate. He said quality of work is more important, not quantity.

On the flip side, Infosys's Narayana Murthy and Larsen & Toubro Chairman SN Subrahmanyan recently advocated for a long workweek. The remarks snowballed into a controversy, with many criticising them over work-life balance.

While on April 2023, the Tamil Nadu Assembly today passed the Factories (Amendment) Act 2023 On Friday, extending the working hours from eight to 12-hour working hours for factory workers. However, the government assured that the total working hours in a week would remain unchanged for the workers who would now have the option to work for four days in a week and avail of three days of leave.

Furthermore, several countries are experimenting with or have adopted a four-day workweek.

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