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Bengaluru woman shares why her Dutch boyfriend could not grasp her choice to quit a 9 to 5 job
A Bengaluru woman shared how her Dutch partner never understood her quitting a 9 to 5 job, sparking debate on work-life balance.
A Bengaluru-based travel content creator has drawn attention online after sharing why her Dutch boyfriend could not understand her decision to leave a conventional 9 to 5 job. Taking to LinkedIn, Soni Saloni explained that her time in Europe offered clarity about the contrasting attitudes towards work and life.
She wrote, “My Dutch boyfriend never understood why I quit my 9-5 job to be a full-time content creator. I spent this summer in Europe and I finally get why. Most things were closed on Sundays. On weekdays, restaurants and shops shut by 6 to 8 pm. In summer, the entire nation is doing nothing. People are soaking under the sun. They are on picnic with friends in parks. Neighbourhoods are tattooing, making music, painting, skinny dipping. They work to live and not live to work, like we hear in the movie Emily in Paris.”
A sharp contrast with India
Saloni highlighted that while Europeans draw clear boundaries between work and leisure, Indians often find themselves caught in an endless loop. “For my European friends, overtime is always compensated for. A 9-5 job does not stretch till midnight. Or they may raise complaints with the higher management. Meanwhile in India, we keep running, working weekends. Our nervous system never gets off the hamster wheel,” she observed.
She further pointed out that Europeans enjoy months of paid time off while, in her words, “we have legendary leaders advocating 90 plus hour work-weeks, working on Sundays and saying, what do you do sitting at home? How long can you stare at your wife? Come on get to the office and start working.” According to her, this culture with poor work-life balance and lack of respect hides under the veil of productivity. She warned that “creativity and strategic thinking is drying up” as people continue “working for the sake of working.”
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Online reactions
Her post quickly struck a chord with LinkedIn users, sparking several comments. One user noted, “Well put across,” while another added, “Completely resonate with this. Living to work versus working to live is such a big mindset difference.” Others called her insight “a powerful observation” and praised her for hitting “the nail on the head.”
“The hustle culture in India glorifies constant productivity, but it often leads to burnout and stifles creativity,” one user said. Another remarked, “I appreciate how direct this is.”
