Burnout crisis grips India's IT sector: 25% of professionals work 70+ hours weekly: Report

India's IT sector is facing an alarming crisis as long working hours become the norm, with a significant number of employees routinely exceeding the legal 48-hour workweek.

A survey conducted by Blind, an anonymous community app for professionals, surveyed 1,450 verified IT professionals in India between March 12-19, 2025, and the findings shed light on the extreme pressures many in the sector face.

A staggering 72% of IT professionals report working beyond the legal limit, and 25% are clocking in 70 hours or more each week.

This gruelling schedule is taking a toll on mental health, with 83% of respondents reporting burnout. In fact, employees at companies with the longest work hours, such as Cisco, Amazon, ServiceNow, Walmart, and VMware, report burnout rates that exceed 90%.

Top tech giants are among the worst offenders. The survey identified companies like Confluent, Intuit, UiPath, Adobe, Uber, InMobi, Salesforce, Walmart, and Microsoft, where a large majority of employees routinely work beyond the 48-hour mark.

In some companies, up to 42% of employees are working over 70 hours per week.

Despite the intense workload, many IT professionals feel there is no reprieve. A significant 68% of respondents stated that they feel obligated to respond to work-related messages outside of office hours. This reflects a persistent "always-on" culture that was amplified during the pandemic but has since become ingrained in the workplace.

The expectation to be constantly available, coupled with the pressure to overwork, is contributing to a vicious cycle of exhaustion.

The survey also revealed a broader concern over the pressure to overwork, with 75% of IT professionals feeling personally or observing co-workers facing expectations to exceed the standard workweek.

The constant pressure to put in extra hours, regardless of its impact on productivity or well-being, is a major contributor to burnout across the sector.

Adding to the frustration are comments from industry leaders like Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy and L&T Chairman SN Subrahmanyan, who have publicly endorsed working 70-90 hours a week.

Such statements have sparked backlash from professionals on Blind, with one verified NVIDIA employee stating, “Never understood their obsession with ‘working hours.’ Such morons," the report added.