‘Get work calls at 9.30pm’: Aussie woman says Indians have no work-life balance
An Australian woman's observations on life in India spark debate on domestic help versus self-sufficiency.
An Australian woman who has spent several months living in India says many households here rely on domestic workers for cooking and cleaning as Indians lack work-life balance. Bree Steele, a podcast producer, took to Instagram to share her observations on life in India, saying she has observed her friends in India get work calls at 9.30 in the night.
The lack of work-life balance, coupled with cheap labour, makes it easy to understand why so many Indians rely on outside help for cooking and cleaning, said Steele.
Aussie woman on life in India
Steele, who has been living in India since 2023, contrasted Indian households and dependence on domestic workers with life in the west, where she says most people manage cooking and household chores alongside full-time jobs.
“I don’t cook or clean in India. Chores? I don’t know them,” she said in her Instagram video. “Most middle class to wealthy households in India have house help. Most people have someone who does their cleaning, maybe their washing and cooking,” she said.
Steele said that a friend in India claimed it is unfeasible to do all the cooking and cleaning without relying on domestic workers. “I was like, that’s what we do in the west. We do everything ourselves with full-time jobs.”
But Steele acknowledged that Indian professionals work longer hours than their counterparts in the west.
“Over time I’ve observed that my friends get work calls at like 9.30 in the night, and there’s no work-life balance here. The expectation on corporate workers is just so high that if you’re single, of course you don’t have time to do your own cooking and cleaning,” she said. “And for better or for worse, labour is cheap in India, so it makes sense that everyone has their own house help.”
Steele ended her video by admitting that she was “ashamed” at how much she enjoyed not having to cook or clean on a daily basis.
Video sparks debate
The video has sparked a debate on the differences between India and the west, with many people agreeing with Steele and others offering different opinions.
“This can only happen in a country with massive income inequality, high levels of poverty, high population and poor regulation,” wrote one person in the comments section.
Another said that people in the west do not actually spend the time and effort that Indians do into making their own food, instead relying on ready-to-eat or ready-to-cook store-bought meals.
“As some who grew up in India with the so-called privileges and then moved to the west, and does all the chores, I'll pick the west every single time. Despite the chores, I still have a LOT of spare time that I spend on my hobbies and health. Despite all the help in India, I lived an unhealthy and tired life,” an Instagram user opined.
Some noted how India is a “dusty” country where floors must be mopped every day, unlike the west.
