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“100s of people can turn up at a location from 50 km away, work 16 hours at a stretch and go home at 2 am,” said a Gurugram-based entrepreneur while commenting on Mumbai’s work culture.
While some said that the entrepreneur from Gurugram is defending “modern slavery” in Mumbai, others raised concerns over work-life balance. A few even praised the city’s work culture.
“No city has the work ethic like Mumbai,” wrote a Gurugram-based entrepreneur on X (formerly Twitter) while commenting on the work culture of Maximum city. The beginning sentence of his one para post prompted many to read it further, but quickly invited backlash for what appeared to be glorification of overwork. The entrepreneur, who goes by Gabbar, hailed the financial capital’s 16-hour workdays, linking longer hours to the city being the “richest” in India.
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Gabbar’s post highlighted that “100s of people can turn up at a location from 50 km away, work 16 hours at a stretch, with zero errors, in perfect coordination with barely anyone calling in sick, or taking a downtime and then go home at 2 am”.
He attributed this to the city’s “public transport, the safety and security totally supports this work-life”.
The entrepreneur further said that the post may “sound toxic” to people, but Mumbaikars are “driven with no entitlement”. “That’s why it’s the richest city,” he said.
After his post went viral and people started bashing him left and right for glorifying the corporate slavery, he shared a follow-up post, responding to three key criticisms.
To the question, “How can you glorify such slavery?” he explained, “It’s just a commentary on work ethic. If you have committed, you deliver, it could be a email at 9am, or it could be showing up at a location at 9am. Work ethic is commitment and delivery. Mumbaikars seem to respect that.”
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In another, he defended Mumbai’s infrastructure and addressed the concerns about the dangers of overcrowded Mumbai locals. “The transport supports this 24×7 life. An auto at 3am outside a station, charging exactly by the meter. No city has this. It’s a comment on reliability and not the comfort,” he added.
Addressing critics who said, “This life is horrible. I can never,” he pointed to Mumbai’s many “rags to riches” stories
He wrote, “Mumbai has the most rags to riches stories per sq ft in India. Those guys went through this grind. You can of course do your 9-to-5 in Belapur CBD.”
Many reacted to the entrepreneur’s post on Mumbai’s work culture and shared their thoughts. While some said that he is defending “modern slavery”, others raised concerns over work-life balance. An individual wrote, “Work 16 hours at a stretch and that’s supposed to be a good thing. Exploiting labour is now an achievement in this country. As a friend had said in Glasgow, the work culture here doesn’t encourage any overtime, if your off time is 4, you leave at 4. If you’re 10 mins over you’re paid overtime.”
She continued, “Work 16 hours at a stretch and thats supposed to be a good thing. Exploiting labour is now an achievement in this country. As a friend had said in Glasgow, the work culture here doesn’t encourage any overtime, if your off time is 4, you leave at 4. If you’re 10 mins over you’re paid overtime.”
The woman concluded, “Quit putting it on your resumé like a badge of honour. It’s a shame, really!”
Another quipped, “Mr Murthy will be very happy to hear this. He was asking for 70 hours a week, but Mumbai has exceeded his expectation.”
“Modern Slavery explained in polished English. This Human conditioning which Humans are suffering,” expressed a third.
A fourth commented, “Currently I have been living in Mumbai for 2 months. This intensity leads to concerns over work-life balance, health, and the sustainability of such a lifestyle.”
“I have lived in major cities of the world but Mumbai is the worst in terms of commute, family time and overcrowd where ever you step your foot. Glorying bonded labor of 16 hours is a pathetic take on fellow human lives. Life is not just a headless rat race! Shove that bs calling the need of these humans as ethics! These folks are working like that because they know when they stop their entire family will suffer, the brutal grind glamorized as ethic is nothing but their majboori and not a choice!” said yet another.
A few even praised the city’s work culture, with one X user saying, “If you have not worked in Mumbai, your resume is incomplete.”
“This is what we call Spirit of Mumbai,” another chimed in.
“Brilliantly put…I agree with your observations fully,” wrote a third.
