'Gen Z is..': Indian Techie Praises Youth's Focus on Work-Life Balance, Compares India vs Sweden

An Indian software engineer living in Sweden has highlighted major differences in work culture between the two countries, praising Sweden for prioritizing employee well-being.

Ankur Tyagi shared that his move to Sweden exposed him to a workplace environment where employers trust their employees and understand the importance of work-life balance, that enhance the productivity.

In India, on the other hand, hard work and hustle culture are glorified where working overtime is normalised and “grinding late hours is worn like a badge of honour.”

Indian Techie Post:

Ankur Tyagi, a graduate of Lucknow’s Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University, moved to Sweden in 2021. Before that, he spent several years working as a software engineer in India.

Tyagi shared a post on X talking about his experience of working in India. He was responding to a recent viral tweet from a lawyer who ranted against her junior’s decision to log in late after working overtime the previous day.

The Sweden-based techie gave several examples of the way hustle culture is glorified in India.

“In India we’re so many people in tech hence so tough competition. If you don’t do it — there are 10,000 people in line so most of us don’t have choice,” he wrote in the post.

See the post: 

Many employees in the comment section agreed with Tyagi's post. Several social media users shared their personal challenges faced at work.  

One user wrote, "My sister works tirelessly for approximately 11 hours daily in the office, sometimes even on weekends. Her office culture feels more like a cult than hustle. She literally cries when we ask her not to go to work on weekends."

Another user disagreed with the post, commenting, "I work in tech in India and have better work-life balance than most Europeans, haha. I usually work 4-6 hours per day and rarely follow a fixed schedule."

A third user, praising Gen Z, said, "Gen Z seems to have the perfect mix of hustling and understanding work-life balance."