Russia woman shares Indian office norms seen as 'abnormal' overseas: 'Living for work vs working for life'

Yulia’s connection with India began in 2012, when she first arrived for a five-month internship.

A Russian woman living in India went viral after she shared her reflections on the differences between Indian workplaces and those abroad. Yulia, a content creator who has lived in the country for the past twelve years, posted her observations on Instagram under the title “Things considered normal in Indian offices but normal abroad”.

She explained that when she began her professional life in India more than a decade ago, she was struck by the attention and concern shown by colleagues. “When I started my career in India 12 years ago, I was amazed when my colleagues used to care and ask me if I had my breakfast, tea/coffee, and lunch,” she wrote, describing the experience as a “super sweet and welcoming restart” to her career.

Yulia noted several other practices that stood out to her. She observed that employees tended not to leave the workplace until the senior-most executives had departed and that taking work calls late at night was considered entirely normal behaviour.

She added that although people in India were “super hardworking”, the broader environment was “highly competitive and the work style often carries loads of pressure”. She continued: “[They] compete with teammates from different departments. And I feel that it comes from a highly competitive environment and lots of young talent in the country. Politics is on a very different level and statement, unfortunately.”

Her post also pointed to the long commutes endured by many workers. According to her, people frequently travelled for more than two hours across the city for work. She remarked as well that it was common to avoid saying “no” directly in responses.

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A post shared by Iuliia Aslamova (@yulia_bangalore)

Summing up her experience, Yulia wrote: “Living for work, vs working for a good life. Many young, ambitious talents do carry responsibilities for the whole family (and not only ma and pa, as well as other relatives). Obviously, it adds lots of pressure that leads to focus ONLY on work.”

The post quickly gained attention and prompted widespread responses across social media platforms. Many users agreed with her points, though some highlighted that the issues she described reflected unhealthy workplace practices.

One user commented: “Mostly correct observations.” Another said: “As an Indian, I don’t like the work culture. Managers are too involved in personal matters. No privacy. Fully partial. Even the entitled holidays cannot be used.”

A third respondent called it “a sharp observation” and added: “I do enjoy the festival celebrations. When you over work, these are few days that helps you to balance that frustration.”

Yulia’s connection with India began in 2012, when she first arrived for a five-month internship. After returning to Russia, she came back a few years later on a very different errand — to purchase an elephant for a circus. She decided to remain in India, where she went on to raise a family and establish her own business.