The Myth of a Saturday Holiday:  Overworked and Under-Rested

For most job cultures, the five day workweek ends in a two day weekend, giving employees a chance to rest and relax. Yet in most industries, especially in India the Saturday holiday is still a dream. Most employees are forced to work six days a week, creating a overwork and lack of rest.​

Toll on Mental and Physical Health:

Studies show that extended hours of work such as working on weekends can have negative impacts on mental well-being. A study in Social Science and Medicine found that the negative impact of an additional hour of work on the weekend on mental health is much greater than that of weekday overtime. This means that breaking into the weekend puts one under stress and reduces overall well-being.

India’s corporate environment typifies the hardships of overwork. The sad instance of Anna Sebastian Perayil an accountant aged 26 who died of cardiac arrest after undergoing severe work stress highlights the catastrophic end of incessant work hours. Her incident has fueled national debate on the importance of work-life balance and the dangers of harmful work cultures.

Weekends are not just for taking time off from work but are critical in terms of recovery psychologically. Attending free time over the weekends has already been found to decrease work pressure and increase mental well-being. Without such critical down-time, employees endanger themselves with burnout, inefficiency and poor health.