Indian Man Shows Empty German Office At 4:58 PM On Monday: ‘Working Overtime Is Not A Flex’

Long working hours, staying back at the office after completing the day’s work and being expected to remain available beyond working hours have long been part of conversations around work culture in India. In contrast, several European workplaces place greater emphasis on maintaining a healthy boundary between professional responsibilities and personal life.

A video by an Indian man working in Germany has offered a glimpse of that difference. In it, he showed his office almost completely deserted just minutes after the clock struck 5 PM, that too on a Monday. Mohit, who works as a platform engineer specialist, shared the clip on Instagram, where he compared his experience of workplace culture in Germany with what employees often encounter in India.

“Work Is Important Part Of Life, But Emphasis On Part”

The video began with Mohit sitting at his desk and addressing the camera. He then turned his camera towards the phone, which displayed the time as 16:58 or 4:58 PM on a Monday. He also panned the camera across his office floor, showing rows of empty desks and chairs, with seemingly no employees left around.

Pointing to the stark difference in workplace routines, Mohit is heard saying, “Want to see the work culture difference between India and Germany? Here, take a look.”

Along the video, Mohit shared his thoughts on how professional commitments should into the wider life of an individual. “Work is important part of life, but emphasis on part! It’s just a part, and it should be treated as one,” he wrote in the caption of his post.

“Working Overtime Is Not A Flex”

His post comes amid ongoing discussions around work-life balance in India, where long working hours and after-hours calls or messages have frequently sparked conversations about employee wellbeing and the pressure to remain connected to work.

Meanwhile, work cultures in Europe are often synonymous with clearer boundaries between office hours and personal time, although practices vary significantly across countries, industries and individual workplaces.

“Yes I work at SUSE and taking a holiday is encouraged and working overtime is not a flex,” shared a user who previously worked for a company in Germany.

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A post shared by Mohit (@mohits_blickwinkel)

Another person commented, “Why India has the culture difference then, we work on the same stuff but the culture and pay are so different.”

Whereas, an individual highlighted, “Please also see the starting time of the day which is 7-8 am. You need to complete 40 hours per week of WORK.”

(Disclaimer: This article is based on user-generated content. The claims made in the original post have not been independently verified by News18)