How two managers approved the same leave, and what it reveals about Indian vs Japanese work culture

How two managers approved the same leave, and what it reveals about Indian vs Japanese work culture

An employee working under dual reporting managers, one in India and one in Japan, shared on Reddit the strikingly different replies he received for the same leave request. A post titled "Difference between a Japanese Manager and an Indian Manager" showed that though both managers approved his time-off, their tone and delivered very different underlying messages.

According to the Redditor, he had approximately seven casual leave (CL) days available and sought permission to travel home for urgent personal reasons. His Japanese manager responded with something like: "Good day! Well noted. Please be careful on your way home. Thank you." On the other hand, his Indian manager's message was far more curt: "Approved. Please be online on Teams and mail." The Reddit user said while technically it was an approval in both the cases, the Indian response "felt like a personal favour" rather than a professional entitlement.

The reaction online was immediate and intense. Many chimed in, sharing their own experiences of how managerial tone, trust, and workplace culture vary across countries. Some applauded the Japanese reply as a fine example of empathy and human-first thinking, while others added that in Indian workplaces, the supervisor's tone often underlines control and that work must go on, no matter what. "We live in a low-trust society. Japanese, Ukrainian, and most Western workplaces are high-trust societies, which is why managers there tend to believe employees," one commenter said.

However, the discussion also brought nuance. Several posters reminded readers that while the Japanese response seemed warmer, Japanese work culture has its own infamous burdens: long hours, expectations of overwork and the term “karōshi” (death from overwork) being part of the narrative. Others said the difference might be less about nationality and more about individual managers, corporate culture and context. One user wrote: “Applying for sick leave when you’re not sick isn’t unique to India, it happens everywhere.”

The story was a mirror for Indian workplaces, considering the approval came with the caveat “Please be online”. That set off a deeper reflection on how, for some employees, leave is never a right-it comes with conditions. In contrast, the rejoinder from the Japanese manager conveyed a sense of trust and personal concern. The viral post thus opened a larger conversation about how companies treat employee well-being, the meaning of “time off”, and how culture and management styles interact in global workspaces.

Whether you are an employee faced with dual cultures or a manager reflecting on your own tone, the lesson is clear: how you say something often matters as much as what you say.