Indian boss says ‘At your age I was earning much less’ after employee asks for a raise
A Reddit post about an Indian boss’ reaction after an employee asked for a raise has prompted discussions around toxic workplace culture.
A Reddit thread titled “Horrible experiences with Indian managers in the US” under the subreddit “Ask NRI” has sparked a conversation about workplace challenges faced by employees under Indian managers. The employee recalled what one of their old bosses said when they asked for a raise.

“I had an Indian manager once, and when I asked him about a raise, instead of talking about my work or the company budget, he gave me the most ridiculous response. He said, ‘At your age I was earning much less, you should be happy with what you’re getting.’ Basically telling me to settle for less just because he was underpaid back in the day. That’s not management, that’s insecurity,” the employee wrote.
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In the following lines, the employee shared more details about his Indian bosses.
Take a look at the post:
What did social media say?
An individual joked, “Yes, the manager said, ‘Be happy with what you are getting offered. Anyway, you are not going to buy a house here, right?’ This manager is well settled with a huge house and kids attending Stanford.” The OP responded, “It's not just an NRI thing. My American manager said the same thing to me. He is a boomer Gen. It could just be a generational gap thing, as back in the day, you could buy a decent house for 200k, and a 100k was the luxury only a select few get.”
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Another commented, “They are not telling the whole truth when saying they 'were' underpaid. These a$$holes are talking about a time frame that was before even social media was nonexistent, and at that point the cost of living was waaayyyy less!!!”
A third expressed, “Indian management spoils everything everywhere they go. Just imagine taking a 50L student loan to go to the US, only to find an Indian manager.” A fourth wrote, “Totally, I have a record of never going to another round in the interview whenever I am interviewing with Indians vs it’s always a great conversation with Americans and I end up getting offer letters.”
ABOUT THE AUTHORTrisha SenguptaTrisha Sengupta is a Chief Content Producer at Hindustan Times with over six years of digital newsroom experience. Specialising in high-engagement storytelling, she blends viral trends with traditional journalism to cover the intersection of technology, finance, and human emotion. Her reporting spans real estate and personal finance struggles in hubs like Bengaluru and Gurgaon, the NRI experience, and corporate shifts like tech layoffs. Trisha also frequently tracks global figures and writes human interest stories. Offline, Trisha is an avid reader, history enthusiast and solo traveler. She balances her journalism career with family life while actively integrating AI tools into her modern storytelling approach.Read More

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