‘Indians are the most overworked people on Earth’: YouTuber's viral post sparks discussion

Finance YouTuber Akshat Shrivastava's viral post highlights India's culture of overwork, stemming from systemic pressures on children.

A viral post by finance YouTuber and content creator Akshat Shrivastava has reignited debate over India’s deeply ingrained culture of overwork, a pattern he attributes not to personal choice, but to systemic pressures ingrained from a young age.

The YouTuber attributed this pattern to a survival mindset that begins in adolescence.(Shutterstock)

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Shrivastava wrote, “Indians are the most overworked people on earth. Not by choice. But, by system,” citing the example of children preparing for competitive exams like the IIT-JEE who often study 10–12 hours a day. This early conditioning to “slog,” he argued, carries over into adulthood.

Check out his post here:

“This habit continues in adult life,” he wrote. “Many hardworking Indians migrate abroad. While their European colleagues have downtime, Indians sacrifice their sleep, family and health to serve their company.”

He attributed this pattern to a survival mindset that begins in adolescence: “Many hardworking kids have no choice but to slog. Build merit → build a better life. That's their only option.”

How did X users react?

The post has sparked a flurry of responses on social media, with many echoing the sentiment and others offering critical perspectives.

One user commented, “Yet despite longer working hours, overall productivity remains so low that it cancels out the extra effort.” Another noted, “Glorifying slogging as the only path feels like accepting a broken system. True merit should value sustainable effort and well-being.”

Others questioned the social cost of this relentless pursuit of success. “Why does the pressure to top the class start so early, robbing teens of their youth?” asked one user.

While Shrivastava’s take struck a chord with many, it also triggered introspection. As one user summed it up, “Hard work is not the problem. Mindset is. Indians need to know: hard work is not the key to success — leverage is.”