Akshat Shrivastava, a finance advisor and content creator, has ignited a heated online discussion by saying that Indians are the most overworked people globally, driven not by choice but by systemic pressures imbibed early in life.
On social media platform X, he highlighted how children study 10-12 hours daily for competitive exams, a habit of “slogging” that persists into adulthood.
“Many hardworking Indians migrate abroad. While their European colleagues have downtime, Indians sacrifice their sleep, family and health to serve their company,” he wrote.
Hindustan Times reported that Shrivastava traced this behaviour to a survival mindset instilled from youth. “What’s the root cause of all this? Well, it comes down to building survival instincts from a young age,” he said, adding: “Many hardworking kids have no choice but to slog.” He further noted, “Build merit – build a better life. That’s their only option. They work silently, putting in hours. Right from the time they are 12-13-year-old kids. Why? because working hard is 100x better than entitled begging.”
Users opine
Some users supported Shrivastava’s view, while others offered critiques. “Indians are often trapped in a cycle of relentless hard work, chasing middle-class stability without questioning the true return on investment for their efforts. The grind for IIT or NIT can open doors, but why does the pressure to top the class start so early, robbing teens of their youth?” questioned one user.
“Indians don’t hustle out of ambition. They hustle because the system taught them there’s no safety net, only grind or fall,” expressed another. “It’s not hustle culture, it’s survival culture. For many Indians, hard work isn’t ambition’s only way out,” commented a third user.
“India’s work ethic is rooted in survival, not passion. From competitive exams to corporate cubicles, the system teaches us that hard work is the only escape from poverty and mediocrity. This mindset-while admirable-often rewards burnout, not brilliance. Children sacrifice play for tests, adults sacrifice health for targets,” said another.
One user argued, “Hard work is not the problem. Mindset is. Indians need to know: hard work is not the key to success – leverage is.” Another added, “If you are born among 1.5 billion people in a 3rd world country, Hard work and Struggle are inevitable.”