“Advantages of working with a British firm”: UK firm grants Indian techie extended leave; sparking online debate on work culture differences
An Indian employee working for a UK-based company, Vivek Panchal, recently brought to light how work culture is viewed these days by sharing a message he received from his employer. The message showed that his company declared a holiday break for the employees until January 6, 2025, to celebrate Christmas and New Year. This is a post by Vivek on X. He commented: "Advantages of working with a British firm." This revelation has given birth to the debate between the work cultures of Western and Indian companies, and several Indian professionals are not content with their respective work conditions.
Vivek's message about 15 days extended holidays sparks debate on work culture
Vivek received a message from a colleague (possibly his manager) saying: "Hello Vivek, from Monday it's holidays till Jan 6th, for Christmas and New Year." This message was posted on X, along with Vivek's comment, "Benefits of working in a UK-based company." The message told him that his company, a UK-based company, would provide its employees with 15 days of holiday for the Christmas and New Year holiday season, a long break that is not common in many Indian workplaces. It became very popular in hours and received more than half a million impressions, with a heated debate among Indian professionals, especially corporate and white-collar job holders. Several comments were reflective of frustration about the Indian work culture where such extended holidays are unheard of. Discussions started focusing on a comparison between Western work culture and Indian work culture.
Sharp contrast between western and Indian holiday policies highlighted in debate
Many commentators have observed that there is a sharp contrast between the holiday policies of Western companies, in which Vivek works, and Indian companies. As one commentator said, in most Western countries, workers are provided with holidays for longer periods during big festivals like Christmas and New Year. In Indian companies, employees, especially those holding corporate jobs, hardly get these long holidays even during Diwali, one of the major Indian festivals.
One of the most universal complaints was the demanding "client-first" approach several Indian companies adopt, which calls employees to work for even 24/7 shifts and deprives them of even personal days by insisting them to service during Indian festivals. An appropriate work culture that cares only for Western holiday needs brings about situations where it forces people to work throughout Indians' holiday periods without acquiring the latter's facilities and benefits from the first-world holiday cycle.
One comment by an X user, Rajesh Iyer, said that while there are extended breaks in the Western nations, India and some of the Asian countries have a system where employees have to keep themselves available all through the year, overtime to satisfy a client. He said, "Not only the UK but all western countries follow this. Only India and some Asian countries follow the client-first attitude and work 24x7 and 365 days work strategy."
Challenges faced by Indian tech employees working for western clients
Actually, a very typical theme dominating the answers was the one of problems that Indian tech employees had working for American or European clients.
These experts often meet the situation when they simply cannot take a break, during the Western holidays, be it Christmas or New Year, as they are still obliged to be available for clients and are located in those states. In addition, they do not get time off for Indian holidays like Diwali because their Indian employers do not observe that break in the same way. They end up missing holidays both locally and globally. This may cause them frustration and burnout. A current X user summed up the dilemma as a worker in the company of clients spread in different time zones said, "You work for an Indian company, so you don't get US holidays. Your client is from the US, so you don't get Indian holidays either." It then encapsulates the worst of both worlds, that is, an Indian working long hours and never taking any real holiday.
Call for more holidays for Indian festivals and better work-life balance
Several commenters argued that the Indian companies should give more holidays to the employees particularly on important Indian festivals such as Diwali.
It was highly recommended that holidays should coincide with cultural events of India rather than international holidays. For example, one commenter complained that during Diwali, which is one of the most important festivals in India, the leave was inadequate. They were upset that they got only one day off for Diwali, which is a stark contrast to the weeks-long holidays in Western countries for Christmas and New Year. The debate on work culture, initiated by Vivek's post, throws into sharp focus the broader issue of work-life balance in different parts of the world.
In the Western countries, the focus is always towards the well-being and proper work-life balance of an employee. Generous time off for holidays, sick leaves, and personal matters is often found in companies. This attitude is quite different from Indian companies, which generally focus on meeting the client demand and achieving business targets at cost to the employees' overtime working hours and their availability. This has given rise to a gap between employee satisfaction, and most Indian working professionals wish to have holiday benefits and work-life balance at work. The pressure in the availability of work itself has been the biggest cause for burnout and dissatisfaction among Indian workers, especially in the technical and service industries.
Vivek Panchal’s post highlights work culture differences between the west and India
This is the post by Vivek Panchal of the UK on how his organization went for holidays. This again reminds that there are quite huge variations in the work cultures between West and India.
In a Western company, a culture seems to encourage work life balance. Their employees are given adequate amounts of holiday breaks. And in such companies'es long hours at the workplace comes with the least time available for oneself.
This has led to many Indian working professionals wanting more holidays with better work-life balance. They also want Diwali, for instance, as an important cultural festival of theirs. It has not only spread awareness but has further demanded a change in this manner in which Indian firms look into employee welfare and their vacation time policies.
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