Indian-origin founder refuses to make her team work on weekends, even if it means losing clients. Her bold take on burnout & creativity is going viral

In an era where long working hours are often seen as a badge of commitment, interior designer Sarah Sham has taken a different approach. The Mumbai-born entrepreneur, who is based between Dubai and Mumbai and manages projects across 18 cities, says she would rather lose a client than ask her team to sacrifice their evenings or weekends.

Her stance recently gained attention after a LinkedIn post in which she explained why her studio follows a strict 9 am to 6 pm, five-day workweek, regardless of looming deadlines or demanding clients.

According to Sham, protecting employee well-being is not just a workplace perk, it is essential for maintaining creativity and producing high-quality work.


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Sarah Sham's Workplace Rule: No Weekend Work, No Late-Night Calls

Sham says her design studio does not expect employees to work beyond office hours, answer work calls on Sundays or give up their Saturdays to meet project deadlines.

When projects begin falling behind schedule, her solution is not to increase the workload on existing staff. Instead, she hires additional people if necessary.

In her LinkedIn post, Sham revealed that some clients have chosen to leave because they wanted access to a design team outside regular working hours.

Rather than changing the policy, she decided to stick with it.

“I let them go and kept the rule,” she wrote.

The statement quickly resonated with professionals debating work-life balance, employee burnout and workplace productivity.

Why Sarah Sham Changed Her Thinking About Long Working Hours

According to Sham, she did not always hold this view.

Earlier in her career, she believed long hours were simply part of delivering excellent design work. Tight deadlines often meant working late into the evening, while weekends were frequently spent finishing projects instead of spending time with family.

However, over time, she began noticing something unexpected.

Some of the projects she was most proud of were not created during periods of exhaustion and constant overtime. In many cases, stronger ideas emerged after designers had rested, stepped away from the project and returned with a fresh perspective.

That observation led her to rethink the relationship between creativity and working hours.

‘Creativity Is A Well, Not A Tap’

One of the most widely shared parts of Sham's post was her comparison between creativity and a well.

According to her, creativity cannot be turned on endlessly like a tap. Instead, it functions more like a well that needs time to refill.

Constantly demanding new ideas from exhausted employees may produce more output on paper, but it does not necessarily result in better work.

As Sham explained in her post: “A tired designer does not run out of ideas all at once. The work just slowly gets less interesting, and nobody notices until a client points it out.”

Her argument highlights a common challenge in creative industries, where burnout often develops gradually rather than appearing suddenly.

The Hidden Cost Of Employee Burnout

Sham believes burnout is not always obvious.

Employees may continue showing up to work, attending meetings and meeting deadlines. However, creativity, problem-solving ability and enthusiasm can gradually decline.

Over time, ideas become repetitive, innovation slows and the overall quality of work can suffer.

By limiting working hours and protecting weekends, Sham argues that employees are more likely to remain engaged, motivated and capable of producing their best work.

This philosophy has become a core part of how her business operates.

Why Some Clients Walk Away

While many companies promote work-life balance, maintaining those principles can become difficult when clients demand immediate responses and around-the-clock availability.

Sham acknowledges that her policy has cost her business.

Some clients have preferred agencies willing to take calls outside office hours or push teams to work through weekends.

Rather than asking employees to absorb that pressure, she has accepted losing those clients as part of maintaining her workplace culture.

For her, the long-term benefits of employee well-being outweigh the short-term gains of accommodating every client request.

Can Fewer Working Hours Improve Productivity?

The debate around shorter working hours has gained attention globally in recent years.

One frequently cited example is Microsoft Japan's four-day workweek experiment in 2019. During the month-long trial, employees received Fridays off while maintaining the same pay. Microsoft later reported a significant increase in productivity, with sales per employee rising by nearly 40 per cent compared with the previous year.

While the experiment was limited in duration and conducted within a specific company, it sparked wider discussions about whether productivity should be measured by hours worked or by results achieved.

Sham's philosophy aligns with this broader conversation.

Work-Life Balance And Creativity: Sarah Sham's Perspective

For Sham, the key question is not how many hours employees spend at their desks.

Instead, she focuses on what those hours actually produce.

A designer who works through a weekend may appear productive, but if exhaustion affects creativity and decision-making, the additional hours may not deliver meaningful value.

Her approach suggests that rest, recovery and personal time are not separate from work performance. In creative professions, they may be an important part of it.

Why Sarah Sham Chose Employees Over Clients

Perhaps the most notable aspect of Sham's policy is that she has been willing to accept its consequences.

When clients requested weekend availability or extended working hours, she did not quietly shift the burden onto her team.

Instead, she chose to maintain the rule, even if it meant losing business opportunities.

Her approach may not be suitable for every industry, particularly those that require emergency response or round-the-clock operations. However, it offers an alternative perspective on leadership in creative fields.

By prioritising employee well-being, Sham believes businesses can protect the quality of their work while reducing burnout.


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