E-Paper
European boss stops Indian employee from working past midnight in wholesome exchange
An Indian employee’s late-night work message turned into a viral moment after his Europe-based manager urged him to log off
An Indian employee’s late-night work message turned into a viral moment after his Europe-based manager urged him to log off, highlighting a stark contrast in workplace cultures and sparking conversations around work-life balance.
The post, shared on the social media platform Reddit, features a screenshot of a chat between the employee and his company’s Director of Sales. The employee, who manages sales and operations for a recently acquired European business, had informed the manager that an update was still in progress and would be shared once received from the marketing team.
Acknowledging the message, the manager pointed out the time difference, noting it was close to midnight for the employee in India. When the employee confirmed that it was, indeed, well past his shift hours, the manager responded: “So it’s time to stop working,” with a smiley.
The wholesome exchange
In the Reddit post, the Indian employee explained that his company had recently acquired a European firm. Because of this, they now get to interact regularly with colleagues in Europe. He did not specify which country in Europe.
(Also read: ‘Managers encouraged 24x7 work in India’: Techie scolded for weekend email after moving to Germany)
The company was in the middle of an important deal because of which the Indian employee was working close to midnight. He shared an update with the Director of Sales in Europe, only to be met with an unexpectedly wholesome response.
“It’s still in process but I’ll share it with you once I receive it from marketing team,” the employee said.
To this, the European executive replied, “It’s already close to midnight for you, isn’t it?”
When the employee replied in the affirmative, the European boss wrote: “So it’s time to stop working”.
The Indian employee praised his European colleague while sharing the screenshot on Reddit.
“We recently acquired a company in Europe and I look after sales and its operations from here to help them. Their Director of Sales, likes me for the potential I have, really motivates me, pushes me and gives tips; today as someone who loves my job, I was speaking to him on an important deal, and instead he replied to me with this,” he explained in the caption.
The employee added that the company’s rules and legal frameworks around work felt “crazy nice”, underscoring the contrast with more demanding work environments.
Reddit reacts
Reddit users were impressed with the exchange and appreciated the European executive’s thoughtfulness.
“I love what they have built as a culture- they don't care if their profit tank. But they definitely care about their work life balance,” a Reddit user said. “When will I see this in India?” another asked.
“A European manager once said that we’re not saving lives, we are saving excel files, it can wait,” wrote one person.
“I worked with some of the clients in Europe and they respect boundaries on another level, initially it was cultural shock for me, wish Indian corporates learn something from them,” a user added.
(Also read: 'Just inform': Indian engineer surprised by European manager's response to his leave request)
