Indian techie working at UK company says holidays declared till January 6th. Desi netizens rue India's '365-day' work culture
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Synopsis
An employee from India working with a UK-based company has caused many office workers to feel envious after revealing that his organization is granting an extended holiday break until January 6 to celebrate Christmas and New Year.
By ET Online
Last Updated:
An employee from India working for a UK-based firm has sparked a sense of inadequacy among numerous office workers after disclosing that his company is offering an extended holiday break until January 6 for the Christmas and New Year celebrations. Earlier this week, Vivek Panchal took to the platform X to post a screenshot of a message he received from a colleague, potentially his supervisor, informing him that the company was granting a 15-day holiday period for the festivities. The message read, “Hi Vivek, starting Monday, we’re off until Jan 6 for Christmas and New Year.”
Since it was posted three days ago, the post has accumulated over half a million views and sparked a heated conversation about Indian workplace culture, where company-authorized holidays of this nature are almost non-existent. In the comments, many employees lamented their own jobs and the work culture prevalent in India. One X user, Rajesh Iyer, noted, “Not just the UK, but all Western nations observe this. Only in India and some other Asian countries do we adopt a client-first mentality, working non-stop 24/7, 365 days a year.” Another comment read, “In India, we only get one day off during Diwali.”
One user humorously referred to the situation as “Narayana Murthy in a parallel universe,” alluding to the Infosys founder’s recent controversial remarks about advocating for a 70-hour workweek.
Many others pointed out the plight of Indian tech professionals, who often work for American or European clients but miss out on both Indian and Western holidays. “You’re employed by an Indian firm, so you don’t enjoy US holidays, yet your client is based in the US, so you miss out on Indian holidays as well,” a user pointed out.
Several individuals also voiced their desire for Indian companies to extend similar holiday breaks for Indian festivals such as Diwali.
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Vivek shared this message on X, highlighting the 15-day leave as one of the perks of working for a UK-based company. "Advantages of working with a UK firm," he remarked. Since it was posted three days ago, the post has accumulated over half a million views and sparked a heated conversation about Indian workplace culture, where company-authorized holidays of this nature are almost non-existent. In the comments, many employees lamented their own jobs and the work culture prevalent in India. One X user, Rajesh Iyer, noted, “Not just the UK, but all Western nations observe this. Only in India and some other Asian countries do we adopt a client-first mentality, working non-stop 24/7, 365 days a year.” Another comment read, “In India, we only get one day off during Diwali.”
One user humorously referred to the situation as “Narayana Murthy in a parallel universe,” alluding to the Infosys founder’s recent controversial remarks about advocating for a 70-hour workweek.
Many others pointed out the plight of Indian tech professionals, who often work for American or European clients but miss out on both Indian and Western holidays. “You’re employed by an Indian firm, so you don’t enjoy US holidays, yet your client is based in the US, so you miss out on Indian holidays as well,” a user pointed out.
Several individuals also voiced their desire for Indian companies to extend similar holiday breaks for Indian festivals such as Diwali.
