A man resigned on his first day of work after his Indian boss scolded him and dismissed the concept of work-life balance as a ‘fancy term’ and ‘western behaviour’.
Yeah, I quit one of my MSFT contract jobs a decade ago after 2 weeks. Team Lead verbatim told me he expected me to work overtime without pay, which is actually a breach of the contracting firm’s terms.
Applied as a DB admin and data analyst.
What this guy wanted me to do was make perfect little graphs in powerpoint for his slide deck meetings with superiors that were not actually possible to do with the visualization software provided.
So use paint! Use photoshop! Ok, follow his instructions verbatim. He comes back 2 hrs later, oh actually I think this minute detail should change and this color should be slightly less ‘bright’.
Ok, do that. 2 hrs later: No no no that’s too dark! That other change I asked you to make doesn’t look good, put it back!
But anyway, at other contract jobs for MSFT, I routinely saw Indian managers from a higher caste being horrifically rude and abusive to Indian temp workers from a lower caste, just screaming profanities and threats in Hindi.
HR’s line was that actually that’s just a cultural difference and it would be rude and untoward to stand up for those guys because it would be perceived as racism.
But anyway, at other contract jobs for MSFT, I routinely saw Indian managers from a higher caste being horrifically rude and abusive to Indian temp workers from a lower caste, just screaming profanities and threats in Hindi.
Yeah, see that shit first person got me all sorts of uncomfortable…
Can’t even really say anything since they got so e wierd dynamic either without looking like culturally insensitive shit lord
The battle for work-life balance is in a far better state in most western economies (including the US) than it is in many developing economies like India. The middle class in India is like 2 generations old. The grandparents of the current middle class are still around and they remember how poor they were and how much has changed. Basically , for many Indian workers, hard work and perseverance on its own (from their perspective at least) has actually been a path to a better life. That social contract hasn’t yet broken the way it has in the west.
The problem with this is that it results in the workplace culture in the private sector in India being utterly abysmal. Workplaces where the work expectations align with what this toxic boss is aiming for are incredibly common to the point of being the norm. Somewhat comparable to western economies a century ago. The fact that such overwork is not actually productive beyond a point is not an idea that has penetrated into the culture to any appreciable degree.
There is awareness of this of course, but change on this scale takes time.
The battle for work-life balance is in a far better state in most western economies (including the US) than it is in many developing economies like India.
Easy to say from an office suite in the downtown financial district than a slaughterhouse in Iowa or an Amazon Work Fulfillment Center or a prison farm in Alabama.
The problem with this is that it results in the workplace culture in the private sector in India being utterly abysmal.
Bosses will exploit their workforce as far as the workforce tolerates it (typically with the assistance of “business-friendly” state officials to compel obedience through debt or bondage). One of the major conflicts in India today is in the northern districts, where the Hindu nationalist state is trying to break the agricultural workers unions that date back to the 1950s when India was aligned with the USSR. If conditions are deteriorating abroad, it is largely because of the expansion of the police and military and the functional enslavement of working people under their domain. If they’re deteriorating at home… gestures towards the suppression of BLM street protests and the mass imprisonment of migrant workers… it’s the same picture.
change on this scale takes time
Conditions can change for the worse, and regularly do. But people quitting day one and making their outrage known is a good first step towards reversing the trend.
In my experience working in several countries in Europe and several industries (most of my career was as a Freelancer), it depends on the country and the industry.
As a westerner, I rate this statement FALSE
Damn boy… Keep this attitude up and I will assign a mandatory 1 hour “mental health” seminar in the middle of the day
Yeah, I quit one of my MSFT contract jobs a decade ago after 2 weeks. Team Lead verbatim told me he expected me to work overtime without pay, which is actually a breach of the contracting firm’s terms.
Applied as a DB admin and data analyst.
What this guy wanted me to do was make perfect little graphs in powerpoint for his slide deck meetings with superiors that were not actually possible to do with the visualization software provided.
So use paint! Use photoshop! Ok, follow his instructions verbatim. He comes back 2 hrs later, oh actually I think this minute detail should change and this color should be slightly less ‘bright’.
Ok, do that. 2 hrs later: No no no that’s too dark! That other change I asked you to make doesn’t look good, put it back!
But anyway, at other contract jobs for MSFT, I routinely saw Indian managers from a higher caste being horrifically rude and abusive to Indian temp workers from a lower caste, just screaming profanities and threats in Hindi.
HR’s line was that actually that’s just a cultural difference and it would be rude and untoward to stand up for those guys because it would be perceived as racism.
… So yeah I don’t work in tech anymore.
Yeah, see that shit first person got me all sorts of uncomfortable…
Can’t even really say anything since they got so e wierd dynamic either without looking like culturally insensitive shit lord
The battle for work-life balance is in a far better state in most western economies (including the US) than it is in many developing economies like India. The middle class in India is like 2 generations old. The grandparents of the current middle class are still around and they remember how poor they were and how much has changed. Basically , for many Indian workers, hard work and perseverance on its own (from their perspective at least) has actually been a path to a better life. That social contract hasn’t yet broken the way it has in the west.
The problem with this is that it results in the workplace culture in the private sector in India being utterly abysmal. Workplaces where the work expectations align with what this toxic boss is aiming for are incredibly common to the point of being the norm. Somewhat comparable to western economies a century ago. The fact that such overwork is not actually productive beyond a point is not an idea that has penetrated into the culture to any appreciable degree.
There is awareness of this of course, but change on this scale takes time.
Easy to say from an office suite in the downtown financial district than a slaughterhouse in Iowa or an Amazon Work Fulfillment Center or a prison farm in Alabama.
Bosses will exploit their workforce as far as the workforce tolerates it (typically with the assistance of “business-friendly” state officials to compel obedience through debt or bondage). One of the major conflicts in India today is in the northern districts, where the Hindu nationalist state is trying to break the agricultural workers unions that date back to the 1950s when India was aligned with the USSR. If conditions are deteriorating abroad, it is largely because of the expansion of the police and military and the functional enslavement of working people under their domain. If they’re deteriorating at home… gestures towards the suppression of BLM street protests and the mass imprisonment of migrant workers… it’s the same picture.
Conditions can change for the worse, and regularly do. But people quitting day one and making their outrage known is a good first step towards reversing the trend.
In my experience working in several countries in Europe and several industries (most of my career was as a Freelancer), it depends on the country and the industry.