Vancouver Posted March 28 Posted March 28 Been seeing a lot about burnout among Indian workers, what’s driving it? Long hours, pressure, job insecurity? Curious what it actually feels like day to day. Would appreciate any perspectives.
jalebi_bhai Posted March 28 Posted March 28 Mental fatigue. Simply saps your energy. Mariyam and ravishingravi 2
ravishingravi Posted March 28 Posted March 28 In my view, it's never work that causes stress by itself. It's lack of harmony within and around oneself. Community and family. Meaning. Life is an organic balance of elements. We thought consumerism and materialism will solve that. It won't. singhvivek141 1
singhvivek141 Posted March 28 Posted March 28 (edited) 43 minutes ago, ravishingravi said: In my view, it's never work that causes stress by itself. It's lack of harmony within and around oneself. Community and family. Meaning. Life is an organic balance of elements. We thought consumerism and materialism will solve that. It won't. Exactly....people earlier used to live in their own home town, between friends, families and known faces. There was simply no vaccum in life, once you turn off from work...there are familiar faces whom you'll chat about your life. Edited March 28 by singhvivek141 ravishingravi and IndianRenegade 2
BacktoCricaddict Posted March 28 Posted March 28 1 hour ago, singhvivek141 said: Exactly....people earlier used to live in their own home town, between friends, families and known faces. There was simply no vaccum in life, once you turn off from work...there are familiar faces whom you'll chat about your life. I really don't think people were happier back then - its mostly nostalgia bias. The stresses were there, but they were different - mostly due to financial struggles, opportunity vacuum, and the constant need to please those "familiar faces," worrying about izzat, marriage, taking loans, saving for home-ownership etc. etc. And then came the economic boom. One problem is that this economic boom came too rapidly, and was concentrated in specific areas. The population was not ready for it. Overall, the stressors are different, but people are not less happy. They are just unhappy for different reasons. Vk1 and Mariyam 2
kepler37b Posted March 28 Posted March 28 (edited) 10 hours ago, Vancouver said: Been seeing a lot about burnout among Indian workers, what’s driving it? Long hours, pressure, job insecurity? Curious what it actually feels like day to day. Would appreciate any perspectives. India is a poor country where the small productive minority has to compensate for the vast swathes of slackers, freebie thieves and ultra corrupt administration. No wonder that minority is burnt out. I travel a mile from Hyderabad and find people that are VERY content with steady life and do not have drive to learn or build new things. Their only aspiration is get a sarkaari naukri that allows them to wallow in their current situation. Some of these guys are absolutely top class skilled. I was once talking to a very good plumber in a telangana tier 2 town. He can earn and learn 10x in hyderabad, but he does not want to loose the "cushion" of friends and relatives and "sleep by" 8PM. Edited March 28 by kepler37b Lord and singhvivek141 1 1
Vk1 Posted March 29 Posted March 29 13 hours ago, BacktoCricaddict said: I really don't think people were happier back then - its mostly nostalgia bias. The stresses were there, but they were different - mostly due to financial struggles, opportunity vacuum, and the constant need to please those "familiar faces," worrying about izzat, marriage, taking loans, saving for home-ownership etc. etc. And then came the economic boom. One problem is that this economic boom came too rapidly, and was concentrated in specific areas. The population was not ready for it. Overall, the stressors are different, but people are not less happy. They are just unhappy for different reasons. In shawshank redemption, Morgan Freeman cannot survive in real world after coming out of prison. Nostalgia bias is similar. Everything seems good in good old days. BacktoCricaddict 1
singhvivek141 Posted March 29 Posted March 29 (edited) 13 hours ago, kepler37b said: India is a poor country where the small productive minority has to compensate for the vast swathes of slackers, freebie thieves and ultra corrupt administration. No wonder that minority is burnt out. And its the same minority which leave its home town, city, country in hope for a better opportunity. They live constantly for hours amongst the people who are super busy. In villages, I remember a child will roam outside for hours and play without worry. In such mega cities, one minute of distraction can prove catastrophic...the working minority has to stay vigil 100% of their time. Causing mental fatigue. Edited March 29 by singhvivek141 Mariyam 1
singhvivek141 Posted March 29 Posted March 29 13 hours ago, BacktoCricaddict said: I really don't think people were happier back then - its mostly nostalgia bias. The stresses were there, but they were different - mostly due to financial struggles, opportunity vacuum, and the constant need to please those "familiar faces," worrying about izzat, marriage, taking loans, saving for home-ownership etc. etc. And then came the economic boom. One problem is that this economic boom came too rapidly, and was concentrated in specific areas. The population was not ready for it. Overall, the stressors are different, but people are not less happy. They are just unhappy for different reasons. Yeah, stress was there. But then people were satisfied with what they had. You can leave your kids outside for play and can take an afternoon nap. Jobs were more of less secure and the pace was manageable. Now, people cant even leave their kids unattended. IT jobs are high pressure of delivery timelines. With rise of AI, people are getting squeezed even more. Tensions are extremely high in Tier 1 cities.
kepler37b Posted March 29 Posted March 29 14 minutes ago, singhvivek141 said: And its the same minority which leave its home town, city, country in hope for a better opportunity. They live constantly for hours amongst the people who are super busy. In villages, I remember a child will roam outside for hours and play without worry. In such mega cities, one minute of distraction can prove catastrophic...the working minority has to stay vigil 100% of their time. Causing mental fatigue. Villages have a truly chill life style. I once saw a function ending at 5PM and people just sat there chit chatting till 9PM. You can exchange aspirations for a idyllic life in India. singhvivek141 1
Vk1 Posted March 29 Posted March 29 10 hours ago, singhvivek141 said: Yeah, stress was there. But then people were satisfied with what they had. You can leave your kids outside for play and can take an afternoon nap. Jobs were more of less secure and the pace was manageable. Now, people cant even leave their kids unattended. IT jobs are high pressure of delivery timelines. With rise of AI, people are getting squeezed even more. Tensions are extremely high in Tier 1 cities. Don't think people were satisfied. You cannot be satisfied if you don't have toilets, electricity, quick means of transport, access to healthcare etc etc. May be few wealthy or those with well paying govt jobs might have been happy.
coffee_rules Posted March 30 Posted March 30 (edited) The same can be said about every other countries’ workforce. Just some propaganda video to short sell Indian workforce. just get a bunch of actors who act like pussies and wimps and make a video about a non-issue Edited March 30 by coffee_rules
coffee_rules Posted March 30 Posted March 30 (edited) On 3/28/2026 at 9:58 AM, BacktoCricaddict said: I really don't think people were happier back then - its mostly nostalgia bias. The stresses were there, but they were different - mostly due to financial struggles, opportunity vacuum, and the constant need to please those "familiar faces," worrying about izzat, marriage, taking loans, saving for home-ownership etc. etc. And then came the economic boom. One problem is that this economic boom came too rapidly, and was concentrated in specific areas. The population was not ready for it. Overall, the stressors are different, but people are not less happy. They are just unhappy for different reasons. Don’t agree, it’s not nostalgia, it was people with lesser needs and being happy being minimalists. Now people want too much in too little time with lot lesser ability and resources. Edited March 30 by coffee_rules
BacktoCricaddict Posted March 30 Posted March 30 (edited) 2 hours ago, coffee_rules said: Don’t agree, it’s not nostalgia, it was people with lesser needs and being happy being minimalists. Now people want too much in too little time with lot lesser ability and resources. On 3/29/2026 at 10:41 AM, Vk1 said: Don't think people were satisfied. You cannot be satisfied if you don't have toilets, electricity, quick means of transport, access to healthcare etc etc. May be few wealthy or those with well paying govt jobs might have been happy. Most of the struggling middle-class folks I grew up with would've loved to have a car, an own house, and grand weddings for their children. Everyone was delighted that these became a reality due to the IT-led economic boom. Families who were struggling to buy a fridge now own 2-3 cars. Of course, one can argue now in hindsight that these objects don't bring peace of mind, but I am quite sure that many, if not most, people back then would've loved to have them and not worry about money, ergo, they were stressed and unhappy. These conversations remind me of this video. 10-min watch: Edited March 30 by BacktoCricaddict Vk1 1
BacktoCricaddict Posted March 30 Posted March 30 25 minutes ago, coffee_rules said: The same can be said about every other countries’ workforce. 100%
coffee_rules Posted March 31 Posted March 31 6 hours ago, BacktoCricaddict said: Most of the struggling middle-class folks I grew up with would've loved to have a car, an own house, and grand weddings for their children. Everyone was delighted that these became a reality due to the IT-led economic boom. Families who were struggling to buy a fridge now own 2-3 cars. Of course, one can argue now in hindsight that these objects don't bring peace of mind, but I am quite sure that many, if not most, people back then would've loved to have them and not worry about money, ergo, they were stressed and unhappy. These conversations remind me of this video. 10-min watch: Don’t think more money would have brought them more happiness, maybe momentarily. Materialism was the western philosophical concept and Indians turned towards West after the liberalization that happened in 1991. Not limiting about it, but it was a necessary thing that happened to most Indians. In my experience, we came from a lower middle class, Family and growing up we didn’t have means for bigger wants, but he managed our wants based on the means and we’re quite happy. Reminds me of this another perspective, money brings in walls It’s not about nostalgia, but having too many options will give more worries than if he had less.
jf1gp_1 Posted March 31 Posted March 31 Dont think this problem can be generalized. Certain industry and certain job roles definitely have this problem but overall its fine. Show life of a traffic police officer on ground managing a crossing between 5 and 8. Standing in 45 degrees at a dusty Delhi crossing with everyone having a weapon called vehicle and willing to runover at the slightest of trigger, will have a different life compared to someone sitting in air-conditioned traffic control office with regular 9-5 job.
Lord Posted March 31 Posted March 31 Work culture is extremely toxic in India. One of the main reasons I moved. Not only they make you work extra hours and on weekends, they treat their juniors like literal slaves BacktoCricaddict and Mariyam 2
Vk1 Posted March 31 Posted March 31 15 hours ago, coffee_rules said: Don’t think more money would have brought them more happiness, maybe momentarily. Materialism was the western philosophical concept and Indians turned towards West after the liberalization that happened in 1991. Not limiting about it, but it was a necessary thing that happened to most Indians. In my experience, we came from a lower middle class, Family and growing up we didn’t have means for bigger wants, but he managed our wants based on the means and we’re quite happy. Reminds me of this another perspective, money brings in walls It’s not about nostalgia, but having too many options will give more worries than if he had less. Not talking about Jackie's unfortunate case here but these celebrities in general work their asses off and give gyan to relinquish in the end BacktoCricaddict 1
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