According to the post, the manager told employees that \u201cclient is important for\u00a0us\u00a0so you have to work on weekends to meet the deadlines,\u201d and added that\u00a0previous\u00a0employees had done the same. The employee wrote that the manager \u201cclearly ordered us to work on weekend and said tumse pehle wale b krte the (those who were here before you also used to do it).\u201d<\/p>
The employee said he declined the request, responding: \u201cWith respect I can’t work on weekends\u00a0cause\u00a0I get paid for 5 days and also 2 days I need for myself.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>
He added that the manager insisted that weekend work was a norm within the organisation, telling him that \u201ceveryone works on weekend here you will have to do it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>
Rather than agree, the employee said he offered to step away from the assignment. \u201cYou can roll me off from this project,\u201d he wrote, adding that the manager \u201cis very angry and have escalated this with senior management.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>
Debate over \u201cglorified\u201d overwork\u00a0<\/strong><\/p> Beyond the individual dispute, the employee framed the issue as part of a broader workplace culture in India that often celebrates long hours and constant availability.\u00a0<\/p> \u201cWhy have we Indians glorified this weekend working?\u201d he asked in the post.\u00a0<\/p> In a pointed remark about client-first expectations, he added: \u201cJo\u00a0bhi\u00a0ese managers\u00a0hai\u00a0why don’t you just put a picture of client at your home and make your wife and kids pray to them\u00a0everyday.\u201d\u00a0<\/p> The comments triggered a lively debate online, with many users sharing their own experiences and views on workplace expectations.\u00a0<\/p> \u201cIndia is an employer\u2019s market\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p> One Reddit user argued that structural conditions in India\u2019s job market often encourage managers to demand longer hours.\u00a0<\/p> \u201cIndia is an employer’s market.\u00a0There’s\u00a0always someone willing to say yes,\u201d the user wrote. \u201cManagers push because they can, and it has worked for them before.\u201d\u00a0<\/p> The commenter suggested that employees who want change need to assert their limits. \u201cThe only thing that changes it is people drawing a line. If you trust your skills, stand firm. Worst case, you leave. Best case, they adjust. No one will protect your boundaries for you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p> Differences with global work cultures\u00a0<\/strong><\/p> Another user said extreme working hours appear to be more common in Indian offices compared with the same firms abroad.\u00a0<\/p> \u201cVery common in big 4,\u201d the commenter wrote. \u201cFunnily enough only in Indian branches is it this extreme.\u201d\u00a0<\/p> They added that stricter labour regulations in Western countries often limit such practices. \u201cIf you go and work in the same big4’s in Europe or even US, you will never see this nonsense because the government actually cracks down and punishes employers if they break labour laws.\u201d\u00a0<\/p> The user also pointed out that demanding schedules have long been part of certain professions. Many chartered accountant trainees working in audit, they said, regularly put in \u201c14\u201316 hour days during peak season,\u201d a workload often accepted as part of the job.\u00a0<\/p> Work\u2013life balance under scrutiny\u00a0<\/strong><\/p> Another commenter linked long working hours to broader cultural attitudes toward leisure and personal time.\u00a0<\/p> \u201cI keep thinking Indians and other third world countries overwork so that Europeans and other first world countries could enjoy their free time,\u201d the user wrote, before adding that stronger labour protections and lifestyle priorities in Europe may be a bigger factor.\u00a0<\/p> \u201cEuropeans especially have pro-employee policies and people prioritise free time and hobbies,\u201d the commenter said. \u201cUnlike most Indians who have no hobby, no respect for anyone’s free time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p> A recurring corporate conversation\u00a0<\/strong><\/p> The discussion reflects an ongoing debate within India\u2019s corporate sector about long working hours, client-driven deadlines and the boundaries employees can realistically set in competitive workplaces.\u00a0<\/p> Consulting, audit and professional services firms \u2014 often referred to collectively as the \u201cBig Four\u201d \u2014 are known globally for demanding schedules, particularly during peak periods. In India, where competition for jobs remains high, employees sometimes report even longer hours.\u00a0<\/p> The viral Reddit exchange has once again brought attention to a central question facing many young professionals: whether pushing back against excessive work expectations can lead to healthier workplaces, or simply put individual careers at risk.\u00a0<\/p> <\/div> Big Four, weekend work, work culture India, employee rights, corporate work-life balance, Indian corporate sector, work hours, employee boundaries, client deadlines, Reddit work debate#paid #days #Employees #stand #weekend #work #triggers #viral #debate #India039s #work #culture1774786596<\/p> ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A Reddit post by a young professional claiming he refused to work weekends at a Big Four firm has sparked a broader conversation about work culture, client\u00a0pressure\u00a0and employee boundaries in India\u2019s corporate sector.\u00a0 In the post shared on Saturday, the employee described how he had \u201crecently joined big four and assigned to a project,\u201d when […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5458,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[20286,20293,20289,9038,659,182,20292,20288,10642,1398,20290,869,20294,11170,1799,5043,6222,20287,4475,9979,20291],"class_list":["post-5457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-content-marketing","tag-big-four","tag-client-deadlines","tag-corporate-work-life-balance","tag-culture","tag-days","tag-debate","tag-employee-boundaries","tag-employee-rights","tag-employees","tag-india039s","tag-indian-corporate-sector","tag-paid","tag-reddit-work-debate","tag-stand","tag-triggers","tag-viral","tag-weekend","tag-weekend-work","tag-work","tag-work-culture-india","tag-work-hours"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5457","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5457"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5457\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}