There has been an ongoing debate on social media regarding “toxic work culture” and “work-life balance” in the corporate world. Many times, instances have
emerged where people have shared their opinions, saying “stop glorifying toxic work culture,” while others supported ''working extra hours to achieve big things in life.'' Joining the debate, a woman took to Instagram to share that “toxic work culture should not be glorified,” and stated, “Dear Gen X and Y, stop glorifying toxicity in the name of hard work.” As her video goes viral, the internet remains divided on the issue. The video was shared by a woman identified as Shatakshi Pandey. In the video, she says, “Toh main abhi ghar waapis ja rahi hoon office se, aur meri jo reporting manager hain, unhone mujhe bola ki ‘thoda sa aur kaam hai Shatakshi, de raha hoon kar do.’ Maine unko kaha ‘Nahi sir, aaj mujhe time par nikalna hai.’” (“So I was just heading back home from the office, and my reporting manager said, ‘Shatakshi, there’s a little more work—I'm assigning it to you, please do it.’ I told him, ‘No sir, I need to leave on time today.’”) She further emphasises, “Time par hi nikalna hai, yeh nahi ki main jaldi jaana chahti hoon. Apne working hours complete karke hi jaa rahi hoon, extra nahi baithna chahti, kyunki aaj mera fasting hai.” (“I want to leave on time, it's not like I’m trying to leave early. I’ve completed my working hours—I just don’t want to stay extra, because I’m fasting today.”) She goes on to share how her reporting manager responded, “Tumhe pata hai kya, main kal raat train mein tha, subah 7 baje pahucha, aur 7:30 baje office bhi aa gaya, aur abhi 6:30 tak office mein hoon. Bhai theek hai, tumne apna itna time diya kaam ko, theek hai, tum chali jao ghar.” (“You know what? I was on a train last night, reached at 7 in the morning, came to the office by 7:30, and I’m still here at 6:30 in the evening. Fine, you’ve given your time to work—okay, you can go home.”) She concluded, “Main yeh nahi samajh paa rahi hoon ki yeh psychology, yeh mentality, yeh conditioning kahaan se aa rahi hai. Insaan do waqt ki roti kamaane ke liye jaata hai, agar woh do waqt ki roti sukoon se nahi kha sakta, toh kya point hai? Zabardasti struggle ko glorify karna – why is this important? What the hell is this? Why do you have to glorify this? Mar-mar ke kaam karna – this is not something to be proud of. I don’t agree with this. I don’t care if you fire me from the job, but I am not okay with this.” (“I don’t understand where this psychology, this mentality, this conditioning is coming from. A person works to earn two meals a day, but if they can’t even eat those meals in peace, then what’s the point? Glorifying struggle unnecessarily—why is that important? What the hell is this? Why do you have to glorify it? Killing yourself with overwork is not something to be proud of. I don’t agree with this. I don’t care if you fire me from the job, but I’m not okay with it.”)
The video has amassed over 1 lakh likes, more than 4,000 comments, and 2 million views.
One user commented, “In my friend’s team (WFH-based), a girl had an accident and still showed up to work. The manager praised her officially in front of the client manager. The client manager escalated the issue, saying the manager is promoting toxicity.”
Another commented, “Love how Gen Z is not up for it. They are outspoken, know their rights, and are not afraid to apply them. I wish I was like that in my early 20s.”
