An Indian lawyer’s social media post that compared the work culture in India and Europe has gone viral.
In her post on X, lawyer Radhika Roy, who recently moved to Europe, said she feels “cheated” upon experiencing a more balanced lifestyle in Europe.
Expressing her frustration, Roy said that in India, the long working hours that seem to be expected of professionals are not accompanied by adequate recognition or compensation.
“Have been in Europe for 6 months now & have started building up a resentment towards work culture in India. You work past 12 AM on a daily basis, only to earn peanuts & to not be respected as an individual. You have no time for yourself. How have we been living like this?” Roy wrote.
“I see what life could have been in India if we just had cleaner air, safer roads, just better access to basic facilities. I’d take that over Blinkit/Zomato any day,” she also said.
Recently, RPG Group chairman Harsh Goenka had given an example of work culture in Denmark. He had pointed out that Danish employees are trusted to work independently without micromanagement and get a minimum of five weeks of vacation a year.
In a post on X, Harsh Goenka said: “Why the people in Denmark are happiest about their work practices: Employees are trusted to work independently without micromanagement, minimum five weeks of vacation and six months of parental leave, flexible hours allow time for family and personal life, job loss is cushioned by government support.”
Radhika Roy’s post has sparked a debate among social media users on the differences between Indian and European work practices. It has attracted more than 584k views and several comments.
A user commented: “I work with European bosses. They take work just as a small part of their life and expect us to do the same in India too, which is risky considering other teams around who think I’m never working.”
“Developing vs developed. It’s all about the numbers. We are on survival mode here always. Elsewhere people get to live,” a second user said.
“They are chilling out now because their leaders had good policies to rebuild the continent after WW2,” another user remarked.
Roy further said: “To be honest, I’ve found people to be generally kinder, helpful, and more approachable here than back in Delhi. I also like the fact that I don’t have to constantly be on guard when I interact with anyone.”