May 11, 2025 01:08 PM IST
A startup co-founder highlights double standards in workplace culture, arguing that overworking at prestigious companies is glorified.
A blunt LinkedIn post by a startup co founder has gone viral after she called out alleged “double standards” in how people view workplace culture at startups versus big-name corporations.
In the post, Aayushi Saraswat, co-founder of FinFloww, claims that overworking at prestigious firms is glorified but startups often receive criticism for similar expectations even if they offer better pay and opportunities.
“Working till 3 AM for ₹6.5L in a Big 4 is called ‘grind.’ Doing a 10-hour shift in a startup for ₹15L is called ‘toxic’. When a global brand burns you out, it’s “corporate experience.” When an Indian founder asks for hustle, it’s “bad culture,”” she wrote.
Take a look at the full post here:
She argued that employees at big name companies will battle burnout, miss birthdays and answer emails during funerals as the company has “a foreign logo and a glass building” but if similar demands are made in a startup, they are labelled unsustainable or exploitative.
Post sparks debate
“You don’t mind being exploited—as long as it comes with a foreign logo. So maybe the real issue isn’t the culture. It’s the optics,” she claimed.
Her post, which quickly gained traction and has since sparked an ongoing debate over hustle culture. “Comparing one terrible situation with another and make it sound like the one of the options is better, is what makes Indian labourers open to exploitation. Exploitation is bad regardless of who does it. You want India to become a developed nation but don’t want to adapt attitude and work culture that made other nations better,” said one user.
Another suggested, “Can we just aim for not exploiting? Instead of saying they do it why cant we do it?”
A third user said, “This post really is a genuine concern or a personal vendetta? Yes, 15 hours a day is toxic at all levels, at all measuring standards.”
(Also read: Employee fired for putting ‘stop crying’ sticker in office bathroom: ‘Had approval from HR’)
