It was yet another quiet morning in Bareilly for me until the knock on my hotel room door steadily grew louder. When I opened the door, there were four men seething in anger. They asked me to pack my bags and leave for my Lucknow headquarters immediately. My crime? The previous night I was spotted at a theatre, watching a movie with my reportee. In the rule book of the local pharma workers’ union, no supervisor could be seen after 2 pm with their team member, even if it’s for a meal or recreation. For them, being with a manager after the scheduled hours means work being stretched. The memory of the forced return train journey two decades ago resurfaced when I read about the proposed Right to Disconnect Bill (RTD) tabled as a private member’s bill by NCP Member of Parliament Supriya Sule in the Lok Sabha recently.

Why do you need legislation when you can quit your job and choose a friendlier employer based on Glassdoor reviews? Of course, a private member’s bill rarely becomes statute in India. But let’s look at a few countries that have already tried to bring work-life balance through RTD.

The worldview

Australia legislated RTD in 2024 and, after a year, the Australian HR Institute (AHRI) surveyed 619 employers and compiled insights from six focus groups. Overall, 58 per cent reported that the legislation had either ‘significantly increased’ or ‘somewhat increased’ employee engagement and productivity levels at their organisation. However, only 39 per cent of enterprises reported benefits of work-life balance among their employees.

Globally, very few developing economies have adopted this law, and there is still no clear evidence that it directly boosts productivity or GDP. Of the 11 countries with effective RTD laws, only two — Ireland and Belgium — are among the top 10 countries by GDP per hour. They were in the top 10 even before they introduced the law, so their current ranking is not directly attributable to RTD. If work-life balance were such a silver bullet for productivity or well-being, why haven’t more countries followed suit with legislation?

The challenges

India has traditionally been a highly protective employer in terms of policy, leading to a higher share of informal workforce. In the last four decades, the outsourcing wave has lifted the Indian tech economy to a significant extent, which required enterprises and the workforce to stay connected to global needs. NASDAQ has just proposed a 23-hour trading day from the second half of 2026, which would mean the BFSI GCC workforce supporting them would need to align with different demands from their customers. On the other hand, the Indian BFSI sector contributes to about 27 per cent of Indian GDP. Imagine the customers who may have to resolve urgent matters with their banks or insurance companies after office hours being stalled by RTD employees. In India, key sectors are deeply tied to global clients, which makes defining when a workday truly ends structurally complex.

Cost of operation

Family-owned businesses in India contribute about 79 per cent of the country’s GDP — one of the highest ratios globally, according to HSBC Global’s latest report. They also employ more than 60 per cent of the Indian workforce. These private players, citing weak demand and underutilised capacity, haven’t been investing in significant capex and have the lowest share of contribution to asset creation in a decade. According to EY and wealth management firm Julius Baer, Indian family businesses are expected to transfer over $1.5 trillion wealth to the next generations over the next decade. The next generation prefers to become financial investors rather than building manufacturing plants. When the government is doing all the heavy lifting related to capital spending, should there be new legislation to increase the cost of operation for private enterprises?

Add to that the wage problem. Compared to six years ago, salaried and self-employed Indians earned a lower average monthly income after adjusting for inflation. Organisations are already adjusting to potential increased costs under the new labour codes; and if you are in Karnataka, you have to factor in the cost of menstrual leave too. An added layer of RTD will demand cultural shifts, operational redesign and added expense. While the intent of the policy is employee wellbeing, enforcing it too soon could affect service continuity in manpower-sensitive sectors. The real question for India is not the merit of RTD, but whether our current productivity levels and economic structure make us ready for such a policy.

Trial run

Let’s say the route to productivity is wellbeing and work-life balance, then should we not try RTD in one or two sectors? Should we start with the IT industry, which has pioneered remote working? Maybe the supporting tools to monitor the implementation are relatively easier among the tech workforce? But would you experiment on a sector that is already reeling under the threat of AI and contributing to 9-10 per cent of the Indian economy?

(Kamal Karanth is co-founder of Xpheno, a specialist staffing firm)

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Published on December 22, 2025