‘Feels Guilty To Leave At 6 PM’: Gurugram Woman Compares European Work Culture With Indian

A Gurugram woman’s LinkedIn post is going viral on social media, as it highlighted the ‘blatant workplace toxicity’ that is often ‘normalised’ in Indian workspaces. In her social media post, the woman- Nistha Tripathi- stated how it “feels guilty to leave work at 6 PM”. She stated how even if one is done with their tasks or came in early, it hardly matters in Indian corporate, as logging off late is often glorified in Indian offices. “In India, you feel guilty for leaving work at 6 pm. Even if you’ve finished your work. Even if you worked your back off the whole week. Even if you came in at 7 am. You’ll still get that subtle ‘half day today?’ joke,” the post read.Tripathi then recalled her experience of working with European teams, claiming

that most “log off at 5 PM, without any guilt or explanation”. “Meanwhile, I got to work with a few European teams where people log off at 5. No explanation. No guilt. Just… See you tomorrow,” the post further read.The woman also commented how Indian companies work as per US and European timings, as Indians are mostly expected to “take calls even at 10pm IST”. Turning to people planning to switch to Indian companies, she advised them to think again and called such work conditions the biggest “sting”.“And the surprising part? Things still got done. Deadlines were met. No one flinched. Most calls in Indian MNCs are still scheduled according to the convenience of US and European offices. Because it is assumed that an Indian guy will take calls even at 10pm IST. To all the people who are planning to come back to India after a professional stint in the West, this is what stings the most. Be prepared to be micromanaged, mistrusted and misjudged for your priorities,” the post continued.“Maybe it’s time we stop rewarding exhaustion and start respecting people who protect their energy. Because being available 24/7 doesn’t make you valuable. It means you are taken for granted,” the post concluded.The post went viral in an instant, pulling many reactions. Times Now could not confirm the details and the authenticity of the post.Check out the viral post: The post was shared on LinkedIn by the handle ‘Nistha Tripathi’. It was shared a while back and pulled many views from people.

Internet’s reactions: “I used to work in South East Asia, where very few people, almost negligible, used to bring food from home. They all used to go out for lunch. Sharp at 1pm, the entire office was empty. No matter how important the work was, no matter the criticality of the work requirement, they were gone for an hour. Nothing could stop them. I had a difficult time in month one adjusting to it, but when I came back to India, I had a difficult time adjusting back to always-ON culture,” a user said.ALSO READ: Delhi Influencer Runs Rs 100 Maggi Stall In Mountains - Here’s How Successful It Got “This isn’t about hours—it’s about outcomes vs optics. In many places, visibility still gets rewarded over productivity. The shift we need is simple: respect delivery, not desk time,” added another person.