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Work Culture, Ethics, Time at work, Importance – India vs. America

Work occupies most of our life, if you think about it…officially you are supposed to work for 8 hrs to be considered full time. But, people work differently in different countries depending on the culture. If you are planning on settling in a country, this is something very serious to think about.  Let me share my thoughts on this…This article is part of the Series: Settle in US or India? Life in USA vs. India? Move back?

Work Culture in US vs. India,  Time at work, Importance of Work ?

As I mentioned in previous article about Work Culture in America, most of the people in America tend to work only 8 hours a day. Typically, they work from 8 AM to 4:30 PM or early. It is common to take 30 min lunch break. Some eat at desk and some just grab a quick lunch.  When it comes to importance of work, people consider work as just work and not LIFE.  With few exceptions, they do not worry about work after they go home or even work on weekends doing work. It is just way the culture is…Work is just part of life and NOT life…As per ethics, most people tend to have good work ethic, they work when supposed to work and get their job done on time. Deadlines are critical part, you should never miss any deadlines…being on time is important.

Unlike in India as I talk to my cousins,  friends, juniors working in IT, they go to work at 9 AM or so and come home at 9 PM. Most of them stay at work for 12 hrs. It is not necessarily working for 12hrs…there is a difference…people take long lunches, tea breaks, other breaks….The reality is, because most of the software engineers are single, they tend to stay at work….but as life progresses and you become senior and become manager, you may come home a little early… People work late hours, they sometime work on weekends…Unfortunately, Work is viewed as the thing in Life trying to succeed and get promotion or anything like that…There is nothing wrong with it…it is just the culture that shapes the environment….work ethic is more relaxed, you just work long hours and spread it over….deadlines are important, but people tend to negotiate with boss, being on time is important, but not strictly followed….These are just some differences and constantly changing as east is adopting west.

Decision about work life for Settling in US vs. India

Lets do math here, 1/3rd ( 8 hrs) of your life is tied to work and if you are young and living in India and working in IT, then your life is tied more than that it is almost 50% more  ( 8 + 4 hrs)  than what you would spend in US.  Although, east is embracing west and we are trying to adapt many things, still the differences remain.  Unless you are in a big managerial role and be able to work flexible hours, India is a questionable choice in this aspect…think about it logically, so much of your productive time in productive years of your life (22 – 32 or so) is just spent at work or doing work….I personally think you can do so may creative things and have fun in life if you live in US during these years. Unless you get flexible hours and have an option to work only 8 hrs a day, it is not a great choice to move to India from work perspective …. I hope that things will change in India as time progresses …but for now, this is how it looks.

What do you think about just this aspect of work Culture  ?

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186 Comments

  1. Your study on indian work culture is wrong .employee harassment is prime motive in indian job culture and employees are forced to work long extra hours without extra pay. Boss are abusive their prime task is to yell and abuse the subordinates. lunch hours are not long at all.

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  2. I am so shocked to read all this… We Indians have such a bad reputation! And why are some people getting so offended? The commenters, already explained that they do not stereotype all Indians, but they do have some doubts.
    If we get an honest and polite feedback, we should accept it and try to improve. Its not that such feedback is being made up just without any basis. There is no smoke without a fire… Why are we in such a denial mode ?
    I know we have problems in India and the attitude towards any work for that matter is pathetic. That is clearly evident in our bureaucracy, the whole world knows about it. But I didn’t know that such incompetence is common even in professionals working abroad. Strange, I have worked with many clients in US and I never got this kind of a feedback, instead me and my team always got appreciation. I know by experience, that the clients were patient and pragmatic about the deadlines.
    I hope things change. For the better.

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  3. I am an American IT worker who works with an office that is primarily people from India. I found this site looking for answers about some communications issues I face at work. The people I work with are very nice, hard working people. But sometimes I find getting answers confusing and was thinking maybe it was a cultural difference. Ie. I am not asking the right way. The post here are very interesting and just shows we all have things in common. Wanting fair pay for time and work produced. To have a life and family and friends and feel we have opportunities. We all are getting a hard time from big businesses wanting to pay less and earn more for their company. Thanks for sharing your stories. And remember we have more in common than seems on the surface.

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  4. They talk so loud and in lust with money. More and more.
    Opportunistic hustlers.
    Sickos—no wonder why they worship the failed state of americant.

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  5. “When it comes to importance of work, people consider work as just work and not LIFE. With few exceptions, they do not worry about work after they go home or even work on weekends doing work. It is just way the culture is…Work is just part of life and NOT life”
    Kumar, you are so off base on this it’s ridiculous. I work my ass off, almost non-stop every waking hour. If I’m not working then I’m working out, or helping my 2 sons do their home work. When you’re doing whatever you do for pleasure. I’m working. When you’re eating. I’m working. When you’re writing this article. I’m working. And most of the engineers I know work quite hard as well. If I travel to San Jose to headquarters, when I go to dinner and then take lite rail back to the office at 10 at night, I see at least one person inside working. To have you write this article is an affront to those of us who have had hard work ethics for decades in the US. Sorry but have to get back to work.

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    • A lot of people do not realize……Indians do not stay in one spot if they are on a job assignment in the USA. They move from job to job and state to state just to survive and get jobs. No fixed life for the young go getters. What happens if you want a set job in one place and get tired of constant moving and have a family. Yo cannot buy a house or really relax if you live a life like that can you?? Is this what the young people want? If you have a family you want to be in a fixed place so you help your family and get their help too.

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  6. Speaking about professionalism only,I think that its not just the americans who can teach us about work ethics,but we can learn a lot from the swiss also.Someone told me,that they are the most punctual people in this planet and that is something (I am sorry to say this,but its true),that we should definitely learn.And if anyone still has a doubt about that he is professional,I suggest you ask yourself this question first
    “Can you self certify the completion of a task without any supervision.”If yes then congratulations kiddo,then you definitely know what is the meaning of ethics
    PS:I am not here to say who is superior or not,I am just stating my opinion about the topic

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  7. Most posted comments seem to be from young, close minded adults. If you dislike article, then just close your browser and move on! I, for one, would like to hear what people from India are thinking. I recently met an Indian that I would like to get to know better. But, as a single middle aged lady I’m not sure how that would look. Any comments??(intelligent comments only please)

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  8. Just out of curiosity, I was searching the internet to have some understanding on the cultural problems faced by Indians and the traditional US citizens in the US due to the immigration of the so-called digital workers from India in large numbers. That search took me to this page. More than the original article, the comments by the readers gave me much insight. I had presumed the American policy planners created the digital economy enslavement of India [Read my blog article : rajan-c-mathew.blogspot.in/2012/04/strategy-they-adopted-to-keep-big.html ] That was just an imaginative story without any factual support, but in reality, India has become a digital economy slave with several economic and cultural problems that are beyond the reach of the imcompetent Indian leaders to address for the time being. The one sided human migration from India to the US might be a potential conflict cause in the US while it creates economic imbalances and intellectual voids in the Indian society. It would be better for both India and the US if the emigrated Indians sacrifice some of their economic comforts and return back to India. If the well educated Indians leave the country, there would not be any thing left for their future generations to be proud of their Indian roots!

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  9. MMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…. Really 8 – 4:30 PM with breaks. I’m getting a really good laugh. I have never worked a job like that with the exception of a bank teller.

    My normal hours lately are 5:30 – 7:00. That’s not normally they go up based on the project However it is a good day when I work only 8.5 hours with 1/2 hour for lunch, and no breaks.

    Due dates are important – meet them, or die trying. Not really that extreme but you get the picture. I don’t know how someone could work so many hours and still not make a deadline.

    Slurs. At work? Really. Go to HR. It is called discrimination harassment and is against all company policy.

    I’d like to think I have great Morals. Now the problem here is what are the morals. Do we judge the morals based upon our own personal belief system? Morals are pretty slanted depending on the person. So Indian’s believe it’s fine to slip a due date. If there is a reason – I understand. Otherwise I would say they aren’t doing a good job. Immoral no. Unprofessional -yes. But per India’s standards that is professional and expected.

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  10. Don’t waste your time working in USA. If you want to come here…come as a tourist and go back. What do you want to come to USA for??? To face discrimination?? Taunts by outspoken rude americans voicing their opinions about foreigners taking their jobs….and having a highshool dropout good ol white boy as your boss???
    Do not give up the good food in India…your close network of friends and family support…it is non-existent in this cold hateful America. You will feel lonely and isolated and it will take its toll on you. You have only 1 life to live. Live it with respect in India especially if you already have a good job in India. Lot of Indians in America are lonely and have committed suicide. Stay home and be with family who will help during crisis unlike being alone and without help from anyone in USA.

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  11. Until India abolishes the two finger test for rape, they can never hope to say they are on the moral high ground. It’s stupid that people are even saying that India has better morals and culture.

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  12. The question is that of life and what one wantsThe potential always flows from low to high(oppurtunities ,money,life )So a significant proportion of world in inevitably turn to usa no matter what this is unchangable reality,the real deal is weather unique indian is able to assimilate with out side effect in usa (thats not possible)Can usa citizen even dream of assimilating in india (culturally impossible)So usa is better economically entertainment oppurtunity wise …but modern usa socially morally deprave (love culture to lust culture ,instant gratification) so indians cannot escape brainwash by society and it will effect his family (fundamental unit of life for indians _be all and end all)But an average money making person in india is resistant to social changes himself and his family coz of unique differences among us …..so kuch paana hai to kuch khona hai-if u have to gain some u gotta loose some …Exeptions cannot be taken as examples just generalised probability comparision

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    • Utter gibberish. US society is not “morally depraved”. India has many glaring problems, not the least being the rape and sexual assault of women, poverty, female infanticide/foeticide, corruption, kidnapping, slavery. I think that you are so used to treating low level individuals like they aren’t important, you don’t see a problem there, and view those parts as different from “your India”.

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      • all you thing mentioned happens in USA too. infact catcalling is very norm in your society in India its very offensive.you ppl have leggalised rape industry aka porn wwhere woman get assulted daily but no one care. its your usa media baah india. when delhi bus rap happen same that day gang rape happen in USA too but its media politic. go to youtube search 12year old pregnant and happy.where girl confeents 70year old guy made her pregnant.usa culture is pure shit . where guy can impreganate woman and can break up for any reason and whole burden of parenting falls upon that woman. thos woman suffer the mos. this ia you’re USA. atleast in india little kid dont go around and shoot ppl out of frustration.

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        • And then why not learn to take a bath first. You smelly one. People who always thinks they are the best and how beautiful india is.. then why most of indian go to US. And most of them are illegal migrant. Shut up.

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    • Sorry to disagree. US people are not “morally deprived” as you mentioned, but much more ethical than most of people in India. New immigrants from India brought so much bad things here, work culture, unfair competition, ganging together, verbally abusive to other non-Indian employees, forcing others to work unreasonable deadlines and without pay or overtime pay, talking loud in meetings, hiring only Indian in a panel interview, wrote down on non-Indian employee job performances, just to mention a few. Are these fair work ethics? Definitely not, from the traditional USA points of view. But such situations have increased by leaps and bounds, especially in the software engineering industry in the Silicon Valley.

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    • The only “moral” criticism I can think of that can be brought against the US by an Indian is related to sex. “Conservative” cultures strive to make sex acceptable only after marriage, and cover up the female form and sexual concepts. But this doesn’t change the facts of human behavior, so there is a public face that is in denial of the reality of prostitution and female exploitation. Ultra conservative ideas and laws make it easier to exploit women since after a sexual assault are “damaged”, and aren’t respected. The Wikipedia article on prostitution in India highlights the lack of real morality.

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  13. The question is that of life and what one wants
    The potential always flows from low to high(oppurtunities ,money,life )
    So a significant proportion of world in inevitably turn to usa no matter what this is unchangable reality,the real deal is weather unique indian is able to assimilate with out side effect in usa (thats not possible)
    Can usa citizen even dream of assimilating in india (culturally impossible)
    So usa is better economically entertainment oppurtunity wise …but modern usa socially morally deprave (love culture to lust culture ,instant gratification) so indians cannot escape brainwash by society and it will effect his family (fundamental unit of life for indians _be all and end all)
    But an average money making person in india is resistant to social changes himself and his family coz of unique differences among us …..so kuch paana hai to kuch khona hai-if u have to gain some u gotta loose some …
    Exeptions cannot be taken as examples just generalised probability comparision

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  14. THINGS WILL NEVER CHANGE IN INDIA…….!!
    Also, they are bringing the same offshore system to US(onsite) and spoiling everything here.

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  15. When my company first started hiring offshore workers in South America and India, it was clearly stated that it was to save money on salaries. I was told back then by a manager that a developer with a couple years experience could be hired for $5,000. I heard that has gone up.

    It is incorrect to think that any race is smarter than another. The differences lie in work ethic and motivation, which are strongly cultural and can also be influenced by the environment. Maybe my department is not typical, but the Indian workers (who are now a majority) in general aren’t as motivated to learn and take care of business. For example, recently there was a web app with many small issues. A few bug reports had been sitting for weeks with a number of Indian people adding comments simply saying that they can’t fix the issues. An American co-worker added a comment describing exactly how to fix it. But the defect kept getting assigned around with no progress. One developer changed a line of code that had no chance of fixing the issue, but actually made the problem worse. Clearly the developer didn’t test their change, but they requested it get deployed to the users. The bug report was reopened of course. I was tired of reading emails about it and so I assigned the bug report to myself and fixed 3 problems and added two features in 1 day. And I had never used the IDE or language before. So the problem wasn’t intelligence or potential skill, but lack of motivation and willingness to go more than 1 millimeter deep into the problem. This example isn’t unusual. Something like it happens a couple of times a week. It is the only pattern I see from the majority of the Indian developers. Of course each individual is unique, but the patterns are extremely clear.

    As I said before, when a few Indian developers were hired into our group, they fit in perfectly and I enjoyed working with them greatly. But as a majority, the cultural influences take over, is my guess.

    Some articles on this site are written by people who are trying to be very honest. When I read something about Indian people sacrificing more for their family while Americans only think of themselves, I know the extreme way it written isn’t what the author intended. Of course Indian people think of themselves and Americans sacrifice for their family, it is just a statement that has some truth in it. And it would take a long time to explore the topic and write many examples, so the person just states it.

    There are some cultural traits of Indian people that don’t mix well with some aspects of American culture. Some of those things Americans are very proud of and are actually very good for business, like the desire to drive toward a goal with minimal process and wasted effort, and being self sufficient, the idea that the problems rest with the workers more than the managers, and everyone’s ideas deserve equal consideration.

    Saying the critics are jealous is very likely inaccurate. The cultural differences are there and if we understand them, things will be better for everyone. Take the best of both cultures and throw out the less desirable traits. One thing is clear, it is very hard to see your own culture since it feels so natural, and at the same time it is very easy to see the worst in other cultures when they contrast with your own.

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    • It really depends on the experience we have had with different ethnicities and the situations they were working in.

      If an American $4B company outsources technical support to an Indian company, which hires computer science graduates. And the Indian company pays its employees $300 a month for night shifts to match US times. This is topped up with an unrealistic 5 minute ‘average handling time’ to provide a solution and then having a Quality Analyst audit the chat script.

      This might give us an appreciation of some of the ridiculous work conditions that exist in the name of outsourcing.

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  16. When someone I knew years ago went to Japan, they learned a lot about how to interact and do business properly. Out of respect and a desire to succeed, people took learning about Japanese culture very seriously. I thought of saying “business culture”, but they are basically the same thing.

    I work in a large IT organization and I could write a book about how the Indian culture is not a great fit with American culture. I should say that when we hired a few Indian workers into our group, I found them as a group to be above average in skill, enthusiasm, kindness, etc. I have more fond feelings for them than most Americans I used to work with.

    Over the years my company has expanded Indian workers both in India and the US until we cultural Americans are the minority. And my management chain is mostly Indian men. In this environment, the cultural differences are stark.

    You might think “all cultures are equally good, just different.” I do not believe this is true in a business environment. There are too many issues to write here, but here are the main ones: 1) Deeply hierarchical – Indian people tend to only do what their superior tells them. They don’t take initiative based on customer needs. They don’t treat co-workers as equals. They don’t do something themselves if they can delegate it to someone else. I’ve seem a trivial task passed down the line 4 times or more, when it would be easier to make the change than it would be to write an email asking someone else to do it. 2) Minimal solutions – instead of taking care of a problem in a complete way, Indian people tend to take the easiest approach that barely solves the problem. They also frequently argue that they implemented the requirements, even though the program features are completely unusable and insufficient by the users. 3) Maybe it is a language issue, but they don’t seem to read or respond to emails. If an email asks a number of questions that only they can answer, the response typically contains one answer, if you are lucky. If an email is sent that states a general problem, all the American workers will contribute what they know, but the Indian workers are either silent or write a sentence that adds no value. 4) Process oriented. I’ve found that Indian people perform and create many tasks that don’t contribute towards the final goal. 5) Indian people are happy to have the American workers take care of problems they create. Bugs, unfinished work, etc. I’ve talked to many people at other software companies that say most of their time is spent repairing poor quality work. I could write pages of examples of very poor work that I was tasked with fixing, or things that sat for weeks that I researched and fixed in a couple of hours.

    Now I realize the above comments sound like generalizations and could spark many hostile comments. I’m sorry if you think it comes from competiveness or feelings of inadequacy, but that is not the case. The main point that I want to make is the conflicting cultures are creating a lot of friction. I fear there may be a big backlash against Indian workers. Many Indian friends of mine have said they would never want to work for an Indian manager or in a large group of Indian people. And the poor quality of work is extraordinary. The users are so used to things barely working, and we work for internal customers, so they can’t go anywhere else. It is hard to measure software development quality since we don’t build the same thing again, and the changes have been slow. The executives don’t care that we have 10+ times the defects we had years ago. They think they are saving money. I don’t see how that can be true. The conflicts are bad, and it is clear to me they are not respecting our culture.

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    • I do not agree with your statement at all. Bill Gates himself said without help of the Indians Microsoft would not be what it is today. And you are????

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    • OMG Welcome to my world. Try being a female engineer with 30 years experience and now have an Indian boss who never worked a day in your industry. You hit the nail on the head. If my boss works 4 hours a day, I’d be surprised – waltzing in at 10:00 when everyone else starts at 7. He is a big talker-full of shit – a real salesman. Won’t walk out into the plant, won’t learn the machinery, the operators, the process. Spends his day reading technical papers, only to escape his office for a nice long lunch. Throws everything together at a break-neck speed with no attention to detail and loudly criticizes anyone for challenging his work. Many faulty assumptions. If I want our company to stay in business, I have to do his job and mine. NOT FOR LONG!!!

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  17. I like this article. This is so true. I’m an African American woman here in the states. I have friends in India who tell me they work long hours to meet deadlines and support family and living costs. I like that. They are single and responsible and independent. So it’s ok. I know the school in India can be expensive and wrk life be more stressful with long hours. But it might change in future. Anyways America is easier in many ways. And I hope the positive aspects of America can reflect in some areas of India. Over all I love Indian people and different cultures and respect their ways of lives. Just as every other culture.

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  18. I have lived and worked in the US for the last 15 years alongside American employees for the most part. I had no cultural clash as I am wired similarly as an individual. In IT in general, you have to and will work long hours if you want to provide quality work and meet the deadlines.

    I bounced on this thread while trying to figure out what the hell am I doing wrong by just existing and doing work at an IT shop where I am the only non-Indian person in my immediate team and the IT itself is about 60% Indian descent.

    For the last 3 years, no, it did not dawn on me that it may be due to some major cultural differences that are getting in the way.

    Here is a factual proper study on cultural differences I recommend all of you to read before getting all angry, about unrelated things and it helps to understand things better.

    http://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1055&context=jekem

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  19. The other day I was at this park where a Birthday party was going on, Grand Parents, Parents, Uncles, Aunts…..18 Adults and just 2 Kids…..one of them was the Birthday boy…..sad reality of this society…..fast forward 20-30 Years what would remain…

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      • It is sad because….educated people are not having kids and want to be by themselves to enjoy life……so the whole population is becoming old. Also what use is having a big house just for yourself??? I have seen lot of senior Americans who are good people living in huge homes by themselves. I own a business by the way. Children do not call them and wives are divorced and gone and they are lonely old men. If you Americans think that is good….more power to you. I like the Indian family structure.

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  20. Indian software engineers and IT managers are the joke of the world. Indian IT workers are the worst, most imcompitant, lying people in the world. The whole world knows that. Your dirty little H1B scam is coming to end India. Get ready to be kicked out of US. You have completely ruined the US IT industry with your shoddy coding and poor quality work. Indian so-called high end IT compaines like Tata and Infosys are nothing but 3rd world IT sweatshops. Nothing elese.

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    • Friend since when you started representing the whole world??
      Seems like you applied for TATA or Infosys and didn’t get selected or some Indian guy replaced you from your job!!!
      I don’t have any intention of insulting you,and you are free to give your views…but please do so by not insulting someone’s sentiment.

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      • And Abhishek, this Patick ‘Chutiya’ may not be an American by birth , May be an immigrant himself .Some small country from Latin America or Eastern Europe..Bastards it seems everybody is jealous of India or competing with us .I was in California for some time working on an assignment and Guys you won’t believe me , a guy from Honduras who had recently immigrated to U.S. also had few things to say about India ..

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      • Most of indian are just hired because company are tend to be trifty.. In term of Quality of Work? They are worst. Mostly Indian people that grow old in India. Wherever they are Indian same old attitude. I can exempt those few indian that are tamed. Those indian that studied or expose to society. But most them, Attitude Sucks

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    • Oh, and do you think you’re a full-fledged American? Since when do you think you represent the entire world? You’re free to give your opinion, hateful as it may be, but don’t hurt other people because of it.

      I’m a teenager. I grew up in America, and though I was born in India, I don’t remember living there and it has had no impact on who I am. I’m as American as anyone else in this country, but I could be forced to go back to a country that I have begun to despise. Does that seem fair to you? My dad, who’s here on the H1B visa, isn’t in IT. He’s a civil engineer. Maybe you need to get an education, like the people who come here for better lives have before they set foot in the U.S.

      If you think you’re so superior to the rest of us, maybe you should learn where the comma is on your keyboard before you insult people who are across the world from you.

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    • Well, at least we can spell.

      Go to any top software firm’s headquarters and you will find that the majority of the workforce comprises Indians. There is always a demand for smart and skilled engineers. The best of them just happen to be Indians.

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      • NO. most of them are hired because company can save money. If they will be hired according to attitude at quality of work. Maybe no indian will be hired. Haha

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    • dude,i guess u have lost ur mind somewhere. Did any indian give u a hard time with ur work related stuff..?? whatever, learn how to respect other people.

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  21. Hi, I am an American of European ancestry.

    In the tech business, like in Silicon Valley, Boston, etc., we work 12 to 14 hour days and blend work with life, just as you described in India. People who work from 8am to 4pm either work for the government, a defense contractor, or a fast food restaurant.

    The work hours are more related to the industry than the location. In this manner, I think the USA is just like India.

    Cheers,

    Charles

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    • Agreed. I worked on banking industry and the American (including indian who are American citizen) worked long hours, average is 10+ hour a day ( do not count lunch). Interestingly, the newly immigrated indian always just ensure they work for no more than 8hours a day. At least this is what I observed in my work place, not to mention that they frequently work from home because of taking care of kids,family ) completely different culture.

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      • I agreed with Mr. Pung. here in India. many people work for 12 hrs. I know many people working 24 hrs on duty. Do you people know how hard it is. The writer is did not done any study properly. This article is completely wrong. Many nurses who work in privately use to work for 24 hrs.

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  22. I think it’s a general asian vs. western cultural dichotomy. In Japan, it’s normal to work for 12 hours per day. In france, 35-40 hours per week is the norm, since people realize that the company you work for isn’t going to look after you forever, so why throw away your life working like a slave? I’ve worked for a few years in IT in the US and found that people work fairly long hours over there as well. (9-10 hour days are common with some senior developers putting in 12 hour days)

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  23. I love the different type of opinions. All of you are well educated and knowledgable on your country. I love the Indian culture. And learning more about it.

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  24. I am on H1 and been living in US for last three years. I have thought through this a lot and took a decision to move back to India. Below are what I focused on.
    Pros of staying in US:
    – Free primary education for kids
    – Handsome salary
    – Privacy
    – Ample amount of free time
    – Confidence of speaking to any level of people in organization
    – Movies, Restaurants, amusement parks, water parts, vacation etc.,

    Cons of staying in US:
    – Whites will nevel accept you as Americans. You are an alien for them always
    – Kids develop an inferiority complex because American kids nevel accept Indian kids as friends
    – Miss all family get together and fun in India
    – Privacy sometimes becomes too much. Whites will never accept you as neighbours.
    – Higher education for kids is very expensive. Exception is scholarship from universities
    – Fear of H1 getting extended, wait time for GC or citizenship
    – Greedy and selfish kids spoil your kids and you can only keep watching. Can’t say to your kid or the spoiler.
    – Visiting back to India. Flight journey and jet lags make you experience hell!!!!

    Finally, I have decided to go back to India only to see improvements and good culture in my kids. If it does not go well, I am coming back to US 🙂

    These are my personal experience and opinions. I am not responsible for anyone getting influenced by this.

    Thanks for reading.
    Praveen

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    • “Kids develop an inferiority complex because American kids never accept Indian kids as friends.”

      You seem to be misinformed. My dad is a H1B visa holder, and I grew up here with many American friends. That statement of yours was a tad prejudiced against Americans. I have friends of American, Asian, European, etc. descent. I have never experienced prejudice because of where I came from. I do not, in any way, think that I am inferior to my peers. Your experience may have been like that, and I’m sorry, but that is not usually true.

      “Privacy sometimes becomes too much. Whites will never accept you as neighbours.”

      Again, I’m sorry if you or anyone you know has experienced that, but that is not something I’ve ever seen. I have white neighbors who I’m very friendly with. Their kids went to the same school as me, and we were friendly to each other.

      “Greedy and selfish kids spoil your kids and you can only keep watching. Can’t say to your kid or the spoiler.”

      Look who has the superiority complex now! Indian kids can be just as greedy and selfish as any other kid. I definitely have not been spoiled, by my parents or anyone else.

      A pro of staying in the United States? A better life, overall. I don’t think you need any more reason than that, unless you are an adult who grew up in India and miss being there.

      Reply
    • I don’t know why you faced this. But not true for all. I’m American and I grew up Indian friends. And still now to this day. They love it here and never experienced prejudice or been left out

      Reply
  25. I m a indian. I m at 27 still searching job here. I have type speed around 25 wpm and basic knowledge of excel. Plz someone give me a job in america or any frgn cntry. I m botany honors graduate. I can understand english quietly well. But my spoken english is of very basic level. I m a typical common indian. Anyone can help me by gvng a job.

    Reply
    • Yes! Apply for the H1B through the many scammer companies! That’s the main purpose of the H1B as it seems anyway. Many like you come to the US and just bull their way around into a job. Then they simply read a few tutorials on the train ride to work and are considered “highly skilled worker”.

      Good luck my friend! You will like it here – there are many folks like you here.

      Reply
      • There are some people who aren’t really “highly skilled” here on this visa. That is true. However, there are just as many people, if not more, who ARE highly skilled and deserve to be here. I understand that you are frustrated, but please look at the positive things as well.

        Reply
  26. Hi All

    I am one of the unlucky person, from whom there is no update on lottery results, but I spoke to my consultant yesterday and he informed me that USCIS might be considering 30000 more H1 :-).

    I am not at all sure how valid the above detais are, but just want o post it here.

    Thanks..

    Reply
    • USCIS cannot unilaterally increase the H1 count. The Congress has to do it. The only thing that is being talked and discussed about currently is EAD for H4s to allow certain H4s who are at an advanced stage in GC processing.

      Reply
      • Increasing the count won’t help anything! The system of a random selection is flawed in itself. Without proper prioritization in the process a cap count only delays the problem to a future day. It is just a matter of time until the new increased cap gets exploited for profit by Indian scammers and IT companies.

        H1B is turning the US into a temp agency for mediocre IT talent from India.

        Reply
        • Hi Stiphen,
          I was just looking at few of your comments..my friend if you think H1B visa are fraud and Indian software professionals are not qualified enough..then I thinks it’s US fault that they are giving H1B that easily or hiring professionals from India.However even if it is so…you should not be using such language against someone…if you are educated enough,I think you will know how to give your views without insulting someone..Hope your commonsense prevails.

          Reply
      • Guys, you do realize that you’re replying to a post from last year! Isn’t it funny that even in June, some people were delusional enough to believe that USCIS was going to send out a whole bunch of receipts!!

        Reply
          • nope 🙁

            Haven’t received official word yet (don’t think anyone has), but in my mind it’s 100% clear that I will not get it this year.

          • It takes something from your part to say it. All the best Scientist! Not many have those guts to admit in a public forum that they do not think they may not get it this year. Even I am waiting. But, in a denial mode for a long time. Now, I am ok to accept it and be ok with it. Let’s see how things turn out. Anything is bonus from here :). Liked your comment a lot.

  27. Hey.

    I am permanent resident of Austalia. Recently returned to India on handsome salary in a metro. Being single is giving me enough time for me & thankfully I donot cook and clean of my own I can afford that luxury in India. Once maried, me & my husband’s salary would be equally decent.
    Hence I have no regrets to leave Australia Though life & cultures are diferent but India is no diferent in terms of leisure activities and life if we are in decent position say minimum of 1 lac per month per person (say 2 lacs for a couple).

    Reply
  28. The quality of life in India doesnt mean only working hrs in office. It means – Any Indian earning 1.00 lac/month can afford driver for his car in Delhi apart from full time servant,washerman to wash and press his clothings etc. You come home at 9 pm. You will have food ready served by the maid. Clothings ready, driver picking up your laptop and briefcase to your car , holding the door open for you to take seat.One more thing 12hrs is not full working. If any Indian says that he works for 12 hrs continuously they are lying. They may hardly work for 9 hrs a day in 12 hrs shift. Rest is Lunch break, smoking break, and so many other breaks which you cannot afford in any other country.
    Coming to taking a nap in lunch hrs, I have seen one German taking 1/2 hr compulsorily napafter lunch in his cabin (in India)shutting the door to his cabin retsricting anybody’s entry. Life is not so bad in India for efficient workers. Promotions, salary hikes is very very encouraging to efficient ones. Sky is the limit for efficients but for easy going lazy workers Indians is not so good. They earn less and always remain under pressure of loosing the job. US salary compared to India is really great. The limited working hrs is also very helpful for active and intelligent workers to utilize the spare time for learning extra skills. For lazy and easy going persons working for 8 hrs in US will also be seen as a burden.

    Reply
    • So Mr.Kumar you mean to say all unemployed force in India is Lazy….??? What you know about India??? sitting in A/C office and spending parents money is easy okkkkk…. Go to field you will know the reality and pain of common Indian….. Go and have a look at BPO and Call center employees they are having very pathetic life…. People use to take 200 calls per day with only 1/2 an hr of break….reconcile 15oo trade entries….,respond averagely 100 emails per day….is all these people are LAZY to have to give answer MR.KUMAR…..you cant talk as you like about Indians…..you might born to rich family and enjoying their wealth….but here in India people struggle for even FOOD, CLOTHING,SHELTER & EDUCATION……go and see in the field how Indians farmers working day and night so that PEOPLE LIKE YOU GET FOOD….OKKKKKKKkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk…………

      Reply
      • Mr. Sharma, are you alright? Can you read what Kumar wrote or do you need it to be translated? Seriously?

        He said “Sky is the limit for efficients but for easy going lazy workers Indians is not so good. They earn less and always remain under pressure of loosing the job.” Which means – for an efficient worker, in India, it is great. For an inefficient worker, it is pathetic!

        And you say “o and see in the field how Indians farmers working day and night so that PEOPLE LIKE YOU GET FOOD” while you start by saying “So Mr.Kumar you mean to say all unemployed force in India is Lazy….???” Which clearly shows that you cannot form meaningful transitions. Let me help you – assuming that Kumar said employed force in India is lazy (whatever that sentence might mean, I take it to say that the unemployed are lazy), where did the farmers come from? HELLO, they are employed.

        Finally, YES. The unemployed, not only in India, but all over the world are the laziest of all humans and need to be shot! There is enough work if you put your bloody dignity down and agree to do whatever it takes to put the food on the table. So, stop cribbing and start working Mr. Sharma.

        Reply
        • Mr.Arun…I am alright by blessing of god..”Any Indian earning 1.00 lac/month ………………holding the door open for you to take seat” could you explain these words of Mr.Kumar..this clearly proves that how narrow minded thinking he has..all Indians do not have these facilities, 70% to 80% of the Indians are poor that means they are ” easy going lazy workers”?? I think you are very bad in Indian History and Geography….Most of the Indian farmers don’t have their own land and they work under landlords…second think Indian farmers are affected by seasonal unemployment which means they do not have job or work for whole of the year….so mr.kumar and youself mean that they are so called lazy and wishfully unemployed?????””””The unemployed, not only in India, but all over the world are the laziest of all humans and need to be shot”””” So now you are ready to “shot” all those poor Indian farmers????? “””There is enough work if you put your bloody dignity down and agree to do whatever it takes to put the food on the table. So, stop cribbing and start working Mr. Sharma.”””” The above said words has Colonial Smell and you are the person of capitalistic mind set…and want all others to work under you like a slaves….”Bloody Dignity” is observed by aristocratic people and I am not belong to these BLOODY CLASS. I am grass root person and knows the realty of India better than those who know only “meaningful transitions” of English words….Many Thanks

          Reply
          • you are an illiterate Idiot.
            Please read and understand first what was written above and in what context.
            if you can’t, please take a friend’s or family member’s help

          • This clearly shows our Indian mentality. If some foreigner visits the website he will come to know about our people mentality better. So much of misunderstanding between a fellow Indian,how can we adopt to different culture…? Better learn guys…

          • Mr. Sharma you have a flawed sense of the world.
            Did you consider the fact that the BPO Indians made poor life decisions.
            You suffer from inferiority complex.
            What makes you think that you cannot earn alot through hard work?
            Anybody who earns a lot is seen as a culprit by people like you.

            Hard work works.

            Shouting irrationally like this on a site does not work.

        • Mr. Arun u immediately require a brain Scan for the stupefied post… do anything for the food …. U Ass…. how come a well qualified person who has spend lakhs on education will settle for petty jobs… it is the political and economical conditions of the nation which can do justice to the demand and supply of quality inputs and outputs…. here I mean… no of institutions offering courses and no of companies offering jobs…

          Reply
      • I talked with someone who spent some time in India. As they put it, “no one does any work unless they have to”. What this means is the low level workers do everything and the very large population above them tells them what to do. Everyone is trying to become a “manager”. A typical group in the US may have one manager for 10+ people, and there is very little hierarchy. A more experienced person may be a “team leader”, but everyone does the work and everyone has input. Of course some senior people may want to force their own opinions, but this isn’t part of the culture, but an individual difficult personality issue. My American friend was told not to speak to the person who delivered Chai tea – it was not appropriate – even to thank them. Other cultures view this type of stratification of people as extremely immoral. I read an article written for westerners doing business with India to be mindful not to acknowledge everyone in the room since some low level people are just there to observe and shouldn’t be addresses. This may seem normal to you, but I think a society is in the dark ages that accepts this.

        Reply
    • A “perfect” country? Darling, even America isn’t perfect. India is far worse than America, when it comes to living there. Please look at it honestly and tell me that there aren’t ANY problems in India.

      Reply
      • As rightly pointed out no country is perfect. Just as India has it’s positives and negatives so does America and any other developed nation for that matter. You need to be able to decide which positives are more appealing to you and which negatives you are willing to live with.

        Reply
  29. Before writing about work culture in India, I would introduce myself, I am post graduate from University of Madras and working in TCSeServe BFS BPO in Hedge Funds NAV calculation process working as Associate.

    In India people are not hired but instead they are purchased and made slave by the companies, how it is done?
    1.These BPO companies get huge out sourcing projects from USA and Europe. And to get very cheap labor force they go to various colleges (mostly pvt) and conduct ‘Campus Interview’, there is always some kind of understanding between colleges and these companies, the colleges(Mostly pvt colleges) gives good amount of money(which is actually collected from student as huge fees, to pay such a huge fees students goes for bank loan) to these companies to select their students for job.
    2.Once they are selected, they (students) are given their offer letter with salary details, the interesting thing here is, every employee will have different salary for the same job position because companies fix pay for the freshers according to the reputation of the college the employee comes from. Employees ability and knowledge does not matter.For freshers the starting salary will be 150 US dollars to 200 US dollars per month.
    3.The next thing is the new joiners have to sign 1 year to 3 years bond with the company which means the new joiner can not move out of the organization at any cost for the specified tenure as per the bond and have to compulsorily work under night shift for US projects .
    4.Once all the formalities are over, the new joiners are given 1 week training by the old employees and then put on to his real work, the problem starts from here…,since the employee is new and working for the first time he gets many doubts but there will be no person to clear his doubts and this causes the delay and inefficiency in work performed, when the work goes for review the new employee is harassed like any thing and scolded very badly on the ground that 1 week off the job training is given then why there is a delay and inefficiency in the work, then the new employee has no answer to say any thing….even though the reviewer also knows that 1 week training is not sufficient to learn the job.
    5.As the day passes…at the end of the month there is a time for salary pay…new employees are very happy, but when the salary actually credited to their bank accounts they get surprised by seeing their salary amount because they get less than what is been offered, they go to their immediate manager with the issue but manager send them to HR. Now comes the twist in the situation…HR say this is your cash on hand after deducting Travelling Expenses, insurance expenses, Provident Fund, local Govt taxes, Loss of pay, food coupons charges etc..the list is long…the new employee has no words to say because he has already signed the offer document and tenure bond.
    6.As day passes the burden of work goes on increases and 9 hr (i.e 45 hrs in a week) official duty becomes 15 hr duty per day and later 24/7.
    7.After one year, now its the time for performance appraisal, the new employees are very happy that they will get increment and bonus. After few weeks the performance results are declared, when employees open their letters they are surprised to see 25 US dollars as an annual bonus and 10% increment in their annual salary. but inflation would have gone to 15% to 20% in the same time.
    8.After completing his bond tenure the company knows very well that the employee will leave the job…so they suddenly increase their salary very high in their last performance appraisal and given promotions, employee becomes happy with that and try to continue with the job forgetting all the pains suffered in the past.
    9.but once again he is given huge burden of work and Torture from the top management for not meeting the deadlines. Now by this time the employee would have got married or have kids so he will not take the risk to quit the job and the management take full advantages of these situation.
    10.In such a situation the employee start seeking for new job but in India it is very difficult to get higher rank job compared to lower rank job. And again the typical Indian society which starts asking 100s of question if we leave the job and sit at home and searching for another one…..And due to stress his/her health get affected followed by diabetic, back pain, sinus, migraine, miscarriage of pregnancy, etc….

    This is what happens with many people in India how goes for Job…

    Reply
    • I am adding few more points to my above discussion….
      1.No over time work salary is paid….if paid it will 10% of (one day salary divided by no official working hrs per day).
      2.During the absent of co employees his work also to be completed which gives lots of stress.
      3.incompetent managers make the simple work as hell.
      4.Because of over stress the employees take lots of unscheduled leaves which becomes punishment for those who comes regularly.
      5. Because of over burden many new employees abscond themselves from the job.
      6.Many employees are intentionally given low ranking in performance appraisal and sent out….so that few corrupt managers can get good lump some of money from various colleges for recruiting their college students…which in return increases the turn over of these colleges during admission and can demand good amount of fees from the students. 100% recruitment in colleges get good rating from Govt and create Good will in the print and paper media….
      7.Companies can also very proudly says that they have recruited 1000s of people in a year and earns name and fame in the public….
      8.All this recruitment drama is done at the cost of poor people of India….
      9.To pay such a huge fees, bribe, donations to college authorities students and their parents…..1.Go for bank loan…2.Sell their jewelleries and properties etc…to build up future of their children…but actually they are cheated by these corrupt colleges and companies in the name of JOB.

      Reply
      • Dear RD Sharma, your observations are absolutely correct, direct and practical. I feel any one who is not a born rich and brought up in India, will agree to fully.

        Reply
      • Mr Sharma,
        It’s scary but true story, I can understand your stance. One thing I have to tell here is, one should be extremely worthwhile in his field of study/work; after all it’s a competitive world, isn’t it?
        Happy childhood, proper educational guidance, ability to choose subjects (mainly based on interests and not always based on prospects), credits, soft skills, and moreover higher education (specialisation), altogether differenciate anyone from the mob. But it is true that not all 100 among 100 can be high-achievers.
        But the fact (no offence) is, most (if not all) BPO employees are mediocre in their education, were unable to secure admissions in good universities in India (very less fee, no donations and some give stipend too) and have no ambition in life. It is true that parents have worked their whole life to fix them in a salary but such students unfortunately have to balance between ‘family economy’ and ‘their academic vis-a-vis professional mediocrity’.
        In the same aspect, if you take an average achieving student in the US, (of course the American students are far worse in academics than an Indian under-achiever), they become successful easily because of maturity and liberty in thought. They identify their talent (not always Academic) and corroborate that layer and make it in to a career (though there’s been increasing unemployment in the US too). But we Indians, we know 2 things: IT (for the better) and BPO (for the worse).
        Hence the take-home message is “it’s too complex and misleading to attribute our experiences to the failure of a system”.

        Reply
        • Thanks Mr.Gupta, for sharing your valuable thoughts, but I disagree with you on few issues, as you said that BPO employees are “mediocre ” it is absolutely wrong and miss understood..They are all highly capable people…better than the Govt employees..,why people in India select BPO because of lack of opportunities and lack of Govt jobs…Am I rit??? If any one from remote India wants to become tennis player/Doctor/engineer/fashion designer etc can he become???? the answer will be NO… even though he tries with his 100% capacity then at the age of 40 or 50 he will achieve the desired level…In India we have huge talent but there are lack of infrastructure and poor quality of educational Institutions make it unexplored…here in India we very proudly praise our pioneer educational institutions such as IIM and IIT but these institutions are unable to secure their place even in top 50 universities of the world…so what we Indians have the options, other than at the mercy of BPO? Mr.Gupta….

          Reply
          • Once again Mr. Sharma, you seem to be transferring your personal inefficiencies to the system as a whole. I, myself worked at TCS, came out of it, started going for MS with a student loan, and then working in the US, now paying back that student loan. I was a merit student in JNTU, paid very little fees because my parents could not even afford the bus fare. Taught mathematics & physics to 13 students during the evenings and on Sundays to pay for misc expenses and then joined TCS. Worked there for the bond period which was pathetic, I agree. But after that quit and joined MS in US and now am relatively happy. Systematic cribbing remains cribbing!

          • BTW, MR. Sharma, I work for a bank in the US. And do you want to know my hours? 6:30AM to 12:00AM (YES that is 12:00AM) are my regular hours. If I get out of work any time earlier during weekdays I am lucky. I am luckier still if I don’t get called in during weekends. And yes, there is no over time. And yes, there is no cribbing. But yes we do have a 2-week/year paid vacation which is sweet to me. But I love my job Mr. Sharma. OH & talking of superiors degrading you, I invite you to spend one week at my desk.

          • Mr.Arun, No one is here to transfer their inefficiencies, what ever I said is the 100% fact and everyday stories in India. You mean to say that you have achieved every thing in life by moving from India to US??? You know one thing, what developed nations think about Indian Engineers and MBAs….??? In their minds Indian Engineers are CYBER COOLI and MBAs are Management COOLI..And Coolises in India works day&Night so even you do, M I Rit??? In this world 99.99% of innovations are made by Europeans and US, what we did…Arun.. WE only Innovated Big ZERO and still we are in that stage only……

          • You’re right that we lack in inventing things. But you’re wrong in three places in your comments –

            1. Engineers are looked upon as top talent by the developed nations. In my team (we are not engineers or MBAs btw), there are both Americans & Indians (in fact there are people of almost all races in the team) and we all work as hard.

            2. Achieved everything by moving to the US? No. But I’m on a certain path to achieve it and I love what I do unlike you.

            3. Well, if you are just complaining and doing nothing, you ARE here to transfer you inefficiency to the system.

          • Mr.Arum these are the words of Ms.Sree, you can take some pain and read it…I am attaching this for you….you can find this article below…This article will show you your future ;-)””””””sree December 26, 2012 at 12:38 pm
            Work Culture:

            Since we are on the topic –
            I am engineer in US who got burned and learnt that hard work alone does not pay.

            I figured working like the super man for a company in the end makes you a slave
            that can be used. Some of my friends were great workers in 22-32. Now by 40s they
            are all crazy working as older managers like slaves for their companies. Most of them
            have become zombies (lookup phychopaths). They hire and fire with impunity. They
            bring their work and their bad attitudes home and torture their family – especially the
            kids (who in their perverted mind see as liablities who simply do not grow up fast enough).

            I chose a different path. I quickly understood that I am living in capitalistic country
            (and a fast changing world that is moving into capitalism) were the key word is “capital”.

            Work is only a means to earn enough to getby. whatever you do for the companies,
            8hrs, 10hrs, 16hrs do not go towards you. They just get absorbed by the company.
            What goes in your favor is what you do outside of work. The hobbies you learn, the books
            you read, the courses you take, the friends you network and ofcourse the spouse and kids
            who you love and spend time with. In the end that is all you carry forward to your
            next real career move up (not the fake promotions that your company makes you beleive
            that are yours).

            Ignore my words (fellow indian middle class) and you will be left with nothing in the
            end. No life, no health and certainly no capital.””””””

          • ” complaining and doing nothing” Who said I am doing nothing???? what you know about me?? I am a HR Manager in one of the India’s leading broking house…and I am happy with my job…and pursuing my phd., I have complained, I am complaining and I will complain against the companies like TCS…..who exploit humans……people like you are the root cause of such attitude shown by these types of companies….who never ever raise voice against exploitation…since you people want to land up in so called US…..

          • Mr. Sharma,
            I understand your pain and completely agree with your point that its better to stay in india and complain rather than going to US and say bad about india…atleast staying in india will make it a better place!

          • Dear Sharma,
            Sorry for not replying you immediately, missed your comment some how, till now.
            Well, I seriously think that you are NOT able to understand a sentence, in a way it means. I didn’t mean BPOs are ‘not capable’. How can you compare them with Govt. employees? Is it easy to get Govt. jobs? Ignoring the percentage of those who get employed through reservations and recommendations, majority of them are meritorious in their academia. They need not work as much as BPO employees, because they have job security and their own reasons for being lazy and corrupt (again, not all). But how is the word “capability” used in comparison with BPO employees? If you can challenge, post the gist of 10 resumes of your best BPO employees to me, and I will tell where and in what grade can they get best employed!
            Regarding your question about the prospects for rural Indians, did you forget that most of the recent actors, players, scientists are from villages only. I think you should get your facts right, before commenting, any ways, it’s not worthwhile discussing things that are known to everyone, except you.
            Poor infrastructure is unfortunate. But that never stops people from exploring for better prospects. How can you complain the system for your failure? Eventually loss is yours! Many villagers are in great positions now, at least I know more than 15-20 scientists in the US who are from remotest of Indian villages. All they did was being active all through their life, grasping knowledge and grabbing opportunities. Opportunities never come searching for you unless you are resourceful, OR better you search for it!
            If you are ardent with your age-old, burnt-out theories and myths, you would stay the way you have been all this time, the only way to atone this is to change your attitude towards things and prosper, it’s never late Mr Sharma.
            Sorry if I disrespected you in any way, but please get the message!

          • Mr.Gupta, I mean BPO Employees are more capable than Govt employees…why I am comparing is jus becoz…Govt Employees in India are 3rd class and worse employees, if these BPO employees are used in a better way rather than exploiting them…then they can make a miracle….but the problem lies in all BPO employers like TCS, Infosys,HCL etc., who are highly capitalistic and want to make money by exploiting health and wealth of the employees….I am worried to the future of those BPO employees…..becoz these industrialist shifted jobs from US to India may shift to some other country…then there will be big problem???

          • I completely agree to you mr. sharma.
            I am working in Oracle(formarly known as iflex) as software developer. I have not faced the situation you said till now. but the same thing i have seen people are facing regarding on the statement you said ‘””””but the problem lies in all BPO employers like TCS, Infosys,HCL etc., who are highly capitalistic and want to make money by exploiting health and wealth of the employees….I am worried to the future of those BPO employees'”””

          • Your literacy really sucks! If you are going to make a good statement please do not sound like a dumb fool. I am from America and me just reading how your literacy skills are, you are a bottom feeder and need to go obtain more knowledge. Using slang makes you look truly stupid, all arguments you made are invalid due to the lack of your common ability to use correct grammar so please do a favor and go back to school and learn how to use grammar correctly.

          • If you want to lecture about good grammar it would help to go back to school and learn some yourself.

            The sentence you have written below is grammatically incorrect:

            ‘I am from America and me just reading how your literacy skills are, you are a bottom feeder and need to go obtain more knowledge.’

            It should read ‘I have been reading’ instead of ‘me just reading’.

      • Hi sharma,

        Ur awesome man i read ur lines which was posted on “January 20, 2013 at 10:42 am”… awesome no words man,,,, this should be read by all and every one should know that are cheated in bpo and it industires.. thanks for ur valuable wrtting…

        Reply
          • Lang – Can you mind your Lang-uage please ?

            To me, you look like an ever bigger idiot who is just scanning grammatical errors on each and every response and have no inputs on the actual topic.

            By the way, how good are you in your 2nd language ? Because I believe Indians have grasped English (as a 2nd language) much better than any other non English speaking country.

            Anyways, I would suggest you to better respond on the topic and avoid behaving like a free spell check / grammar app ;). In case you know the meaning of “Substance over form” you’ll easily get what I mean.

            No offense
            Cheers
            #Another average Indian

          • Hey, come off the make believe name. You sound like a first generation Indian immigrant that is a grammar nazi and feels it’s their right to correct everyone else’s writing.

    • I had a recent visit to the United States and it was very nice, the popularity which I gained was tremendous with the Native American staff and I felt there was no difference with both of our work culture – The Voice of the human heart is same it can even communicate to the blind / deaf & dump so, that’s were its always said need to have a very good communicate .i.e., very good communication doesn’t means that you have to us a bombastic language. Probably I gained so much of popularity since I spoke as a very ordinary man, but many others were worried in proving I am the best and I need to speak what my boss feels good. They had well prepared business dialogs but, I had a routine example of a fish lady who providers me the fish everyday and she calls me when my favorite fish arrives and when I forget to call her she calls me back and the Theme for everyone in customer services becomes be the fish lady I never though the poor fish lady will gain so much of popularity nor I was prepared to Narrate it. There was best compliments in front of all the other staff by the Owner of the company, such as “I will not forget you for rest of my life; You made my day; I am very much Impressed by you. I have no shame in telling everyone that I was wrong that way Indians consume good is different so, customer service is different over there – but they are very good in customer service. It was all so great to hear for me this, Perhaps they all came from me naturally without any complex things. May be I was what I am; May be I was able understand; May be I didn’t put up any show to please my boss.

      Reply
  30. Work Culture:

    Since we are on the topic –
    I am engineer in US who got burned and learnt that hard work alone does not pay.

    I figured working like the super man for a company in the end makes you a slave
    that can be used. Some of my friends were great workers in 22-32. Now by 40s they
    are all crazy working as older managers like slaves for their companies. Most of them
    have become zombies (lookup phychopaths). They hire and fire with impunity. They
    bring their work and their bad attitudes home and torture their family – especially the
    kids (who in their perverted mind see as liablities who simply do not grow up fast enough).

    I chose a different path. I quickly understood that I am living in capitalistic country
    (and a fast changing world that is moving into capitalism) were the key word is “capital”.

    Work is only a means to earn enough to getby. whatever you do for the companies,
    8hrs, 10hrs, 16hrs do not go towards you. They just get absorbed by the company.
    What goes in your favor is what you do outside of work. The hobbies you learn, the books
    you read, the courses you take, the friends you network and ofcourse the spouse and kids
    who you love and spend time with. In the end that is all you carry forward to your
    next real career move up (not the fake promotions that your company makes you beleive
    that are yours).

    Ignore my words (fellow indian middle class) and you will be left with nothing in the
    end. No life, no health and certainly no capital.

    Reply
    • I fully agree with @sree. Being a start-up engineer/coder for 5 years and entrepreneur/coder for 1 year, I second what @sree has expressed. ‘Work smart, not hard’ is easier said than done. Your brand spreads far from how much time you spent on coding or building something. Instead focus on following (which helps you in career, freedom/choices as well as satisfaction) –

      *Hobby / Passion
      *Volunteering / Teaching something that you are an expert of / Social Commitment
      *Professional Networking (on job / off job)
      *Domain expertise (don’t be a generalist ex. – Rails or JS coder or whatever)
      *Brand you build online – Blogs/LinkedIn/Forum/GitHub/Open Source/YouTube Channel etc.
      *Friend/Freedom/Self-examination = Happiness
      *Get out of the “rat race” or “peer pressure”. It doesn’t matter.

      With these you can proceed with career ladder (need little bit of “power politics” as well) or slowly migrate to a Micro-ISV /Consultancy that initially starts with paying your bill, eventually forking to a full-blown business.

      Nobody is going to count your in-job-14-hours (other than some fake momentos) and any weekends-that-you’ve-spent-for-office. Don’t try to be a “Hero” or “Rokstar” etc. of your office/team (Delivery your stuff under deadline and with good quality. That’s it !). Your personal brand that pervades beyond office and to the industry you belong is far more important and eventually that will help you to make some important career moves – executive or non-executive.

      Reply
    • Dear Sree,
      I like your attitude. I agree completely with you and what I actually believe even before starting a career is, one should choose education that interests him/her, where he/she achieves well, works smart and when harmony prevails in one string, it of course resonates harmoniously in others too, ending up with a happy family and healthy 50s.

      Reply
    • I had a recent visit to the United States and it was very nice, the popularity which I gained was tremendous with the Native American staff and I felt there was no difference with both of our work culture – The Voice of the human heart is same it can even communicate to the blind / deaf & dump so, that’s were its always said need to have a very good communicate .i.e., very good communication doesn’t means that you have to us a bombastic language. Probably I gained so much of popularity since I spoke as a very ordinary man, but many others were worried in proving I am the best and I need to speak what my boss feels good. They had well prepared business dialogs but, I had a routine example of a fish lady who providers me the fish everyday and she calls me when my favorite fish arrives and when I forget to call her she calls me back and the Theme for everyone in customer services becomes be the fish lady I never though the poor fish lady will gain so much of popularity nor I was prepared to Narrate it. There was best compliments in front of all the other staff by the Owner of the company, such as “I will not forget you for rest of my life; You made my day; I am very much Impressed by you. I have no shame in telling everyone that I was wrong that way Indians consume good is different so, customer service is different over there – but they are very good in customer service. It was all so great to hear for me this, Perhaps they all came from me naturally without any complex things. May be I was what I am; May be I was able understand; May be I didn’t put up any show to please my boss.

      Reply
  31. I found this article hard to believe. I work in a company where one third of the people in my department are Newly immigrated Indian (meaning they still do not have green card). They ( especially women) tend to work from 9 to 4:30 with one hour lunch. In addition, always ask for work from home for if they are pregnant or when kids are sick or they have to nurse the baby. Totally different from what this article said. Hopefully what I observed at work is not typical newly Indian immigrant.

    Reply
    • I believe since they are now in the US they are following American culture. Perhaps they came here because they like this lifestyle and don’t like working long hours. What this article said might be true in general but possibly not applicable to everyone in India.

      Reply
      • Thank you for being one of the very few people here to not use slang terms. I appreciate that you have common sense to use good grammar.

        Reply
    • I work with a lot H1Bs in software development. Mostly Indians and some chinese.

      By and large the Indians are experts at avoiding work and accountability. They will not voice opinions. Yes means maybe, Maybe means no. You never hear no but it is what will happen unless you tediously followup.

      Very nice and polite and will follow directions but no original thought.

      They mostly do testing.

      I don’t understand why they don’t just stay with in India.

      Reply
  32. I found another great article about American work culture. It’s recent, and I think really illustrates a big issue going wrong in the American workplace. Check it out and share.
    http://theamericanrose.blogspot.com/2012/09/cry-babies-weak-egos-of-americans.html

    Reply
  33. I found this article somwhat randomly. But anyways, I was born in NH, U.S. and I study at the University of New Hampshire. I recently did an internship through Fidelity Investments in Merrimack, NH, and I realized that at least 33% of the people working there are Indian. I found this quite interesting, because out of the NH population, the Indian ethinicity makes up about 1% at most. Within the entire Fidelity organization there are many Indians and Fidelity also has a location in India. Anyways, I’ve realized that American Indian work ethic tends to be much better than the average American’s work ethic, and it shows here in the state of New Hampshire.

    Reply
  34. I have never worked in US but would like to mention that work hours in India does not only mean 8+4 hrs. In the metro cities it most of the time means 8+4 (work)+2(travelling). For some the 2 hours becomes three hours during festive seasons and during rains (I have worked in Mumbai and know how painful the travel is). I am sure in US the travelling time for most of them is rarely more than 40-45 mins. Besides quality of life that you get in India is also miserable!! Whether you drive a i10 or a Merc, you have to drive through the same potholed roads, same horrifying and unruly traffic which definitely adds to your work stress!!

    Reply
  35. I don’t know what kind of social life Americans & NRIs are living spending 16 hours a day with family,then also divorce rate is highest in usa.I am sure that their daughters also start dating in a age of 12 against your wishes.These things u will rarely finf in india

    Reply
    • Subbu,
      You mentioned daughters dating at the age of 12 and not children dating at the age of 12. Just wondering if it is ok (in your opinion) for boys to date but not girls. Will give me an idea where you are coming from and how backwards your comment is.

      Reply
      • Well said Saurabh. To the bullseye!
        I was just wondering whether we are wrong expecting gender inequality in the most backward rural societies of India, when there are educated sexists online!

        Reply
      • Again, clearly you know this guy is correct. Please don’t have this pussy liberal, ultra femi nazi “sucking up to females attitude”. You KNOW the guy is correct, you understand what he/she tried to convey and/or ask. How does it matter if it is boys or girls? Clearly, its much worse if it is girls, as you can clearly see females are premature child ages dating, girls become pregnant, boys don’t. Get the point? Backwards? having morals and a code of ethics is backwards for you? Don’t EVER forget you are Indian and can pretend to be, can live in the “illusion” that you are american. You WILL always be Indian. Stop having these inferiority and superiority complexes about yourself just like the writer is this article has.
        PS: you still didn’t answer why, in spite of spending 16 hrs with the family, people gert separated/divorced more. Highest rate of divorce: USA – where more than 50% marriages end in divorce. Now, I know the reason, but still want to know what YOU “think” the reason is.

        Reply
      • Saurabh, whatever we say about gender equality or backwardness the cold fact is that its always the girl which get raped, its always the girl which get date drugged, its always the girl which gets molested. So no matter how advanced one is, no matter how open minded one is these cold facts point as to which gender needs to be protected more. One’s son even if date drugged, will not be raped and may not be as badly molested as one’s daughter hence its obvious that one worries more about daughter going on a date than son be at age of 12 or at 20.

        Reply
    • Subbu I totaly disagree with you, India is a country of illiterates where 70% of population are not educated. Most of the divorce are not happening through legal courts but happens through Panchayat (Community Heads/panel). Here women and children are treated as slaves they are badly abused by powerful people. I think you don’t know anything about India. Please go to ground zero you will be surprised to see the pathetic conditions of women and children.

      Reply
    • I am so amazed when a person such as you makes comments based on what they read and appear to have no real life exp. to base it on. In the USA people do not stay in miserable marriages. To live a happy family life is more important than to appear happy and stay married so statistics makes a culture look good. It is further ignorant to assume that young women start dating at 12 in all the USA. If it is so awful here then why is that so many other people from all over the world have but one clear goal in life … to come to the USA.
      I will not talk negatively about the things in your culture that are result of a third world country mentality and ask you to take stock in your words and think before you speak.

      Respectable, happy healthy families are also a part of the USA. Children are not all out of control and YES, men an women are considered equal. Hmmm could have something to do with that statistic you are so proud of.

      Reply
      • Ada, YOU ARE SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO CHEAP, YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED TO SHARE THE SAME SPECIES AS ME. Actually, I’m disappointed with you, just like your parents must be, and your grandparents.

        Dear Ada(Indian pretending to be American), let me DESTROY you piece by piece:

        1) You said “I am so amazed when a person such as you makes comments based on what they read and appear to have no real life exp. to base it on.” —
        a) Do you know this person? if not then what is the meaning of “a person like you” ? what did you even expect?
        b) Have you not done the same thing? talking shit about India, based on what you heard on Fox/faux news – which is nothing but a republiCUNT propaganda channel. You should know how biased american media is. If you don’t, then you need help, serious help
        c)You don’t really have to live in USA to know the divorce statistics and the how much morals people have, and their school of thought.

        2) You said ” In the USA people do not stay in miserable marriages.”
        a)Yeah? then why did you marry in the first place then?
        b)What’s your definition of ” miserable marriage”? and who decides? and based on what factors? Also do you even have a real life? or are you just living in the illusion of “being happy”
        c)So marriage( a sacred holy ceremony in all parts of the world) is a joke now? You marry and then divorce. WOW!! congrats what a great “happy” life you are living (sarcasm)

        3) You said “To live a happy family life is more important than to appear happy and stay married so statistics makes a culture look good”
        a) Again, who decides? and why did you marry then? and what do you mean by “family life”
        b) How do you define happiness? Its nothing but a state of mind. It stems from how you were born and brought up and hence its a “used to” thing.
        c) Clearly, you are not just ignorant about it, but also don’t give a shit about YOUR culture- or any other proper culture for that matter. btw you must love this “divorce culture” ( which is NOT even a culture, but a pun, a joke)
        d) How did you judge/how can you tell that people are unhappy in their marriage? If they are unhappy they will try to make the relationship work – like all mature, educated people do and should, NOT be a cry baby and go file for divorce like a pussy ass bitch that you are. If your computer stop working, do you try to find out whats wrong and rectify the problem? or do you throw it in the gutter and get a new one? And here we are talking about people – something that is much more important than a computer AND irreplaceable.

        4) You said “people from all over the world have but one clear goal in life … to come to the USA.” Do you even know the reasons? Let me educate you about some :
        a)They come/go to USA for the opportunities – over opportunities – something they might not get elsewhere. Job prospects, more freedom to choose a career etc
        b)The money is good. Or atleast it was. Now its all going away
        c)People want to be pampered, actually over-pampered like all ameriCUNTS and pussies like you living in USA are (presuming you are living in usa).
        d)Overwhelming western influence, somehow brain-washing people(like you, and your parents) into thinking USA is paradise and so they set out in their life’s journey – most without even knowing what they are in for.
        e)Its clearly NOT so that 13 yr old kids can date/engage in naughty activities and regret later.
        f) Its clearly NOT to marry 5 people and divorce 5 people and then date a couple more, and then a few more – just like animals basically. One of the key differences between humans and animals – something that separates us from them is MORALS. We know what’s right and wrong. They don’t. We, unlike animals have a complex upper mammalian brain that is able to judge what is good and what is bad

        5) You said “I will not talk negatively about the things in your culture that are result of a third world country mentality and ask you to take stock in your words and think before you speak.” Yeah? haven’t you said enough in those 8-10 lines of CRAP that you wrote? Who decides which country is a 1st world and which is 3rd world? Who gave you the right to judge them? So, if someone has morals and/or are conservative and know their roots unlike a flying pig wannabe like you, then they have a “wrong mentality as a result of 3rd world”? Clearly, you’re not that educated or enlightened and can NEVER ever be, thanks to your whore mentality. You keep living a shallow materialistic world in which you “try” to be happy.

        6)If you actually knew about India, you would know that women are given a higher pedestal in India’s society – there is 33.3% reservations for the gender with fallopian tubes in education, for jobs etc. There is a whole women’s compartment/bogey/coach in local trains. Women are “ladies only ” seats in local buses. There are many more examples of women being given the upper hand in India, so yeah clearly men and women are NOT equal in India. 🙁 But what you fail to realize is Men and Women were NEVER meant to be equal. If you think they are equal, lets have men and women together for all kinds of sports, Olympic events, same toilets for both genders and lets equalize EVERYTHING, including marital laws. Let the man have what he rightfully earned through hard work – after divorce(something that is inevitable thanks to bitches like you).

        Reply
  36. If you can not live happy in your own country(India) there is no country which will make you happy. All Indians who have moved to US and hate India are big loser’s. You will move to US buys a Honda Camry do a get together with co-losers like you and feel so proud of your achievements. After some time you will buy a house and will invite all your losers friends to show off. In the mean time your kids will grow up and will hate anything to do with you, your loser friends and India. At some time of life they will run away and marry some American against your wishes. You will be living a comfortable miserable life. Good luck and keep hating India.

    Reply
    • I think you are living in your own bubble . you don’t talk about India our working culture is same as working as a donkey accept it . and people who go there they are not looser and you talk about girls will marry against the wishes of NRI …. that means in India every one marry to their love…. you are such a looser … Don’t talk about our culture in India pissing is allowed in Public but not kissing .We will write Kamasutra but bot talk on sex issues …At least working in US they can afford a camry but India how much it will take for you to get the same thing … everywhere there is a corruption … what shit you talking about … Indian Hate each other on the basis of state ,language and religion … we are shit Race to exist on the planet ….

      Reply
      • Kunal,

        Looks like you are one big looser who have gone to US. In your mind you think you are better than everyone who is living in India. Good luck to you and your loser mind staying away from India. You deserve this. People like you are not welcomed in India. Your loser mind is going to run behind dollars all your life. Your fellow Americans will consider you as a smelly Indian. Enjoy your Camry there. First you will be on H1 being salve. Then you will run for green card. Once you get it you will be so happy(Loser). Then you will say that I am giving my kids best of both the worlds(HAHA that is funny).

        Enjoy your Hell.

        Reply
        • Actually speaking as an American, who was born and raised here… we do not think of Indians as “losers” nor do we think of them as “smelly”. They are some of the brightest people I have come across and my pharmacist and my mother’s doctor both are American-Indians. Whether the person is in America to study and then leave to go back to India, or to stay here and become an American citizen it doesn’t matter. Believe it or not, Americans are made up of every type of race, creed and color and religious beliefs and lack thereof.

          (I apologize for using the term “American-Indian”, it is not meant to be derogatory but as a way to explain an American who is from or has ancestors from India.)

          Why judge all Indians who come to America as losers? If they can get a better job and a more comfortable life, with the possibility of a better education for their children; then what’s the big deal??

          When you say “American” are you referring to the Americans who are European-descended, (ie: caucasian), chinese, japanese, mexicans, french, canadian, native american or candian-chinese americans or japanese-mexican americans or… ? (No offense meant towards anyone in the USA who’s ancestors are from different countries or who’s parents have 2 or more ancestors from different countries).
          As you can see, we are made up of a vast array of people who’s ancestors are from all over the world. So kindly explain which Americans you are speaking of?

          FYI I am not an NRI or an “American-Indian” ….

          Reply
          • Hi Ellen, I 100% agree with you. and I live in India and I know what is the condition here. Its very difficult to survive in this country….India is only famous for “CORRUPTION” other than this nothing is here. No value for talented people, the only work left for the graduates here is to become slave of big companies; work for 15 hours and get 150 to 200 US dollars as salary per month and shut the mouth or go and Beg for money from your parents. whole young life goes in earning and middle life in taking care of family and when become older money will be there but no energy to enjoy and 101 types of diseases will grab us and at last we Indians get peace only when we die and taken to grave yard.

          • Ah! nice, this is the second time I’m in agreement with you and the 2nd time I’ve praised you Ellen. Initially, I thought you would say shit about the other person, but you were kind enough to be tolerant of other people. The unfortunately truth is, not everyone is (or at least you seem to be) as tolerant and “non racist” or “non xenophobe” or should I say broad-minded as you. USA is filled with hate, criminals, racists, xenophobes(and not just immigration and customs and border patrol faggots).
            Just a correction: Its Indian-American …. NOT american-indian, american indian are native americans – the people who actually belong in america, who’s ancestors were killed by white people from europe, whose land and whose buffalo was stolen by columbus and his buddies.

            Indian-American – person from India who is now and Ameirican citizen/resident
            American-Indian – the native american aka red indians

        • If you are such a pride Indian, why you are following this blog(redbus2us..its not redbustoIndia)? Migration was/is always there in human history. Our forefather’s moved to better places (like river side , places better for agriculture etc.) If somebody moved to US doesn’t mean they are losers. They just moved for better opportunities.. And that’s their choice..(Somebody lose when they can’t achieve what they wish to) Probably its frustration inside you which make you to put comments like this.
          (BTW, I’m an Indian staying in India)

          Reply
      • I more or less disagree with both your comments and disagree completely with “Mr/Ms Indian”.
        Kunal, you have a right point but you have replied emotionally thereby leaving a huge room for error. How can you forget that you too are an Indian? Please don’t make a statement, “you Indians..” and the decades of chaos should not make you call the whole race, shitty.
        And not to mention the state of the art ignorance of “Mr/Ms Indian” !!

        Reply
      • Every word you said is 100% true….. “At least working in US they can afford a camry but India how much it will take for you to get the same thing ” – and if I manage to juy somehow, all my life’s saving and future savings woudl be gone 😉 ..lolz

        Reply
      • Indians are very keen in others life and they cannot accept if any body comes up in life and they speak about culture but they treat gentlemen like animals and family politics, ugly living condition and no respect for human life, they built a slavery into the minds of engineers, doctors except laws.America is a place of paradise and opportunity and European beauties, long living condition. In India people survive but in my gods wished land america and Europe they live.

        Reply
    • One Indian to another Indian

      Jai Hind………. I love my India.

      You have a strong point when you describe about kidsssss. Though I don’t agree that Indians living in US are losers but in some way or the other they are not as lucky as the people who are living in India with their family and earning big.
      I see everything good …absolutely “A one” in USA but the only one thought which haunts me is about my kidddoooo who is growing here…. and is soon going to join her kindergarten(KG) in an elementary school. We parents are at best but I definitely agree that kids suffer because of our easy & comfortable life here in states. ( I have a house to show off and myself working with good bunch of people in IT & finance department and my husband is also doing good)
      Some Indians living in US are not sure if they could get a job in india or no and some have opened small businesses to earn big bucks. And I am with them ……..end of the day everyone wants to live comfortably and happily and also to send money back home.
      I want to thank you for bolding the thought of going back home in my mind. I have always told my husband that we want to move before my lil one starts her schooling and now that time has come and we are not even trying to get a job in India.
      As an inference I could definitely say if you have all your brother, sister and parents living in usa then you definitely settle in USA and lead an awesome life. But if your family is in India then you should surely think about going back as otherwise you will always find something missing in your kid which otherwise would have been soiled in automatically.
      I even think out loud and want to do something massive for my country, My India- my motherland.
      But end of the day what counts is to be at yourself do always the best and right, everything else will fall exactly how Godji has planned for you. Be happy and healthy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
      This is truly a very difficult topic. I am sure that I need to decide within 2-4 yrs otherwise I will be living away from my mother & my motherland. JAI HIND ….. love you India!!!!!!!!

      Reply
    • Mr.Indian what you said even applicable to people living in India too….even here children do marriage against their parents….can’t they? If your so optimistic about India then there should not be any Old age homes, Nari niketan, property dispute, honour killing, rape, women and children abuse…etc…is it? They are not losers…actually we are the big big losers because we lost our grate talent by losing them, They moved USA because there is no opportunities for them here in India. I think your also one of the typical narrow minded Indian supporting typical,narrow minded, rich ,powerful and conservative Indians, who don’t have any other work….other than feeling jealousy at the progress of Indians residing outside the country and working hard for their famlies and nation. hats off to those grate Indians….who made India known to western countries.

      Reply
      • RD Sharma,

        I totally agree with your present thoughts. After reading this whole debate, we must make ourselves realize that every individual has their own thoughts and it is very important to understand the root before taking any decision based on our thoughts. To understand the root we must ask ourselves as to Why are we here? What we’ll become in the end? What we are trying to prove to this world?

        Internationals who are living in USA may have different aspirations but they have some duty towards their nation. The should go back to their nation with a vision to create new opportunites for the comming generation. So that the new generation won’t face the problems that they are facing.

        Reply
        • Hi Ishan

          I totally agree with ur point that all NRI should contribute and help our nation financially and technically as well.

          Thank yaar

          Reply
  37. I agree… working in US is definetly better…
    I have worked in US for 5 years and nearly 2 years in India and can surely feel the difference….
    In India you need to lie (saying “I have got fever” or something similar) in order to take a day leave to relax or go to some show or to take your pet to doctor….
    In US you can openely say that you want to attend your child’s football match and can take leave from work for it.
    You learn to work smart in US in terms of time utilization.
    During 5 years of my stay in US I must have worked more than 8 hours max 30 days in total.
    During 2 years of my work in India I have worked (rather stayed in office) more than 8 hours for atleast 1 year.
    I can surely bet that you will have lot of personal time in US compared to India which is like a boon during your young life.

    Reply
  38. I have worked in some of the most reputed companies in India and found that Indians are adopting westren culture be it meeting deadlines or eliminating flattery and judging an employee by his/her quality of work. By my experience, I can surely tell one thing that if one is a good worker and is contributing positively to the company, he/she would never fail to impress the top managers and would be definetly appreciated.

    Reply
  39. Kumar,
    I dont think working in India in our 22-32 is bad . I do feel wherever you are it mostly depends on the company you are working for. Am in India and i see the differences between my timings and my friends in diff companies . Good companies have really flexible timings, freedom to the employees and when we have such a lot of trust put in us we do work better , while some companies are torturous, asking der employees to work hard rather than smart ! Same applies for US too am sure .

    Reply
    • Agree with you Namita. In India too, it depends on the org people work under, and many times, I have seen it depends on the employees too. Managers are hired from external orgs ( services based mostly), and they start expecting the folks to work 24/7 , which is against the respective org’s culture. People reporting under such managers somehow feel obliged to listen to them. But, if one is lucky to work in orgs, which do not support such environment, the sub ordinates can definitely speak up. I myself , have spoken up in such times, and thankfully, other folks follow the trend. Sadly, yes, cant say the same for all orgs :-(. Also, I feel that many ppl are just workaholics, and always in the run, such ppl cant be helped even if the org is good.

      Reply
  40. I Agree with you about the cultural differences in work style between east and west. In the east which is comparatively less prosperous, and development is in its initial stages people are rugged more. In contrast, the west is more prosperous and have a through understanding of work cultures. I have worked both in India, and US and feel the work culture is better-off in US and India is catching-up. But the slow nature of work here is creating a certain sense of inertia, and making us more relaxed. When we return to India it might take while to catch-up back with fast pace again.

    Reply
  41. Hello Mr. Kumar,
    I am working on a report on business culture in India. If you or someone else could answer a few questions I would greatly appreaciate it.
    I have always heard that in India it is customary to take rest periods/naps after lunch. Is this true?
    Is gender an issue in the work force?
    Are Americans well accepted in the India business world?
    When an American accepts a position in India – do companies normally supply training on culture, ethics and business practices?
    Are there any social expectations within the work force?

    Thank you
    Dana

    Reply
    • Dana,
      It is very hard to generalize the statements. These are just my thoughts.

      I have always heard that in India it is customary to take rest periods/naps after lunch. Is this true?
      Lunch is a social thing, people tend to take long lunch and socialize. This is slowly changing with western culture.

      Is gender an issue in the work force?

      India is fundamentally a patriarch society. It is changing with the westernization and gender is not an issue anymore…but still in the rural areas, it can be.

      Are Americans well accepted in the India business world?
      I would think in the Business world, yes well accepted.

      When an American accepts a position in India – do companies normally supply training on culture, ethics and business practices?
      I do not know for sure in India. I did not work much in India. In US, I have seen in my company americans do get cultural training when working with Indians and other internationals.

      Are there any social expectations within the work force?
      It is the work culture and respecting the boss, not disagreeing with boss directly in public, etc..

      Reply
        • Dana,

          Only one thing I would like to comment on is – you mentioned taking naps during lunch hours or after lunch.

          Well actually this kind of things were followed in India only 10 to 12 years before and that too mainly in Government jobs. Reason – gov employees does not have fear of loosing jobs during those days which has changed now. Gov due quick progress and development in India. Private and Publiv (Gov jobs) both has high risk if you do not give proper working hours and do not meet required deadlines. No chance these days if any one would even think of taking a nap during working hours. Such things happens but in rural areas where mostly people are not that educated or are farmers. A govt employee is considered to be a very important person even though he just a clerk in a village.

          I hope this may help you.

          REgards,
          Victor

          Reply
      • Regarding Dana’s question about social factors (last question), I have another question on that topic.

        In India if a coworker or boss invite you to their family members’ wedding or any family function what is the requirement one must attend? How does it look if we don’t attend?

        Does it matter if that person is a boss or coworker?

        Is it true that if we go we shouldn’t go empty handed? What do we bring to a wedding (as a gift)?

        Reply
  42. I don’t know where you get your information from for your article. You state that leaving work “on time” is the norm here and granted the few exceptions to that rule. I worked on both coasts and in between and worked in I.T. in the US for just under 30 years. I don’t know anyone who didn’t bring work home – Americans and otherwise. I do know people who left either on time or a little later. My last manager got angry with people who just put in 8 hours at work. Companies I worked for included – IBM (where a 12+ hour day wasn’t that atypical), Prudential, and ADP. If we didn’t put in the time, we knew we could be replaced.

    Reply
    • Sam, I am not generalizing here, the info is only based on my experience. I worked in Midwest as well as in South and I did talk to few of my friends who work in coasts as well….What you said is true too…honestly, it totally depends on the work culture of company, your manager and other factors…Trying to compare on a macro level in this article…

      Reply
    • As Kumar says yes it does depend on the company’s culture and few other factors. Another factor this depends on is the economy.

      The last few years have been pretty bad. For those still with a job, they may be working the job of 3-4 people. In these cases there is no chance of working only 8 hours a day. People forsake meals to work throughout the whole day, sometimes not drinking water or even having restroom breaks. I am talking about IT and office jobs. People feared to lose their jobs so they won’t be lazing around. When they put in those long hours 10-14 or more hours a day they are working hard, not browsing net, going for tea breaks or simply being at the office to fill time cards. They are doing work. In the 90s I don’t think it was so bad when the economy was good. People were working less hours then. (My thought from learning from my and my friends/family’s experiences.)

      Reply
    • I think it depends on your job in the USA. I know management brings work home (one of the reasons I don’t want to be in management). Depending on the job and if you are paid salary or hourly, will depend on how much work you bring home.

      When I leave work, I leave everything at work behind. I work 40 hours a week and every hour over 40 that I choose to work is overtime pay (1 1/2 x my pay). Holiday pay is 2x my hourly wage. At my company they ask if we want to work overtime, we can if we want but it’s not mandatory, nor does it look bad to management. My company tries to balance work life with home life. They believe the happier their employees the harder they will work.

      Reply
  43. Hi Kumar,
    This is a hot topic .. whenever two indians meet in US this topic will come.. just wanted to add like,

    1.In India the salary hikes are very frequent … in my opinion i don’t think the hikes are frequent in US.Now a days indian IT companies are paying more salaries..
    2.Career growth- In india one can get promptions ( becoming manager ,VP etc will happen fastly..) but in US it will take very long time to get into that position.
    3.Job stability- i think in India the job stability is more compared to US.

    thanks
    Vijaya

    Reply
    • Vijaya. You make valid points.
      The reason I feel these points are true today is the economy of India is growing rapidly. If we saw US in the 90s during the IT boom, people were rapidly moving up and through organizations getting hefty pay increases within companies. Even other companies would scoop those people up and give a 10-20K raise! It was pretty wild.

      In US… I think it is possible to move up the ladder but it is probably different than in India. I don’t know much about the Indian situation, but in US it depends on a worker’s merit. If they are at work and doing good, hard work their path to promotion is much quicker than someone who just does what they are told. Employees who go above and beyond what is expected of them, help others and look for mentoring opportunities that take them to the next step are more likely to get promoted. If the person is very enterprising and understands their field well, this can happen quickly. I have known people who because they were flagged by their managers as ‘having potential’ were immediately set up with supervisors who were ‘grooming them’ for the next level. Generally people are groomed and are not give a position in the next level just because they were there for a particular amount of time.

      Reply
    • About the salary hikes in India- well they are needed as every 4 to 5 years due to inflation the cost of commodities in India doubles.it is difficult to survive on 2007 salary for the same job.

      Reply
  44. @kumar
    it is smashing information, after reading this i am sure one will choose to be in usa only
    need to say that.
    good one
    thanks
    easwaran

    Reply
    • I am not sure why we have to be so angry about choices made by individuals. It is ok to love your country and traditions and stay if you like. It is ok to leave and try new worlds and new things and it is ok to even adopt some new ways or hold strong in your cultural views. All this is fine. It is not ok, to judge others and we all get caught up in it. We are passionate in our beliefs they are a part of our core values and when cultures mix interesting, fun and frustrating things happen. The journey is our life and we are to live it as we see fit, with respect of others. Enjoy India, enjoy America. Be happy do not harm each other. Show compassion in your choices and above all remember we are all human.

      Reply

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