LinkedIn user compares Australia’s relaxed life with India’s hustle, sparks discussion: ‘Not saying one is right but…’

A social media post comparing everyday life in India and Australia has struck a chord online, prompting a discussion about work culture, ambition and the cost of constant hustle.Garg highlighted what he described as a deeper, underlying pressure driving Indian professionals. (Unsplash/Representational image)Taking to LinkedIn, user Manuraaj Garg painted a vivid picture of contrasting lifestyles. Recalling a call with a friend in Australia, he described a quiet, unhurried evening. “I got off a call with a friend in Australia. 4:30 pm. He was at a café. Alone. Not a meeting. Not a catch-up. No laptop. No AirPods. Just… coffee. Sit. Sip. His day was done. No ‘quick call’. No ‘circling back’. No ‘just one last thing’ before logging off,” he wrote.“He’ll go home now. Dinner on time. Maybe cycling. Maybe a round of golf. Or just a long walk on the beach with his wife. Sleep 10. Flat stomach. Clear head,” Garg added, contrasting it with an all-too-familiar Indian routine of late-night work calls, traffic-clogged commutes and weekends spilling into workdays.“8:30 pm in India: Office lights still on. Or brake lights in traffic. One hand on the wheel, one eye on WhatsApp. ‘Joining in 2 mins.’ ‘Can we quickly review this?’ Sunday evening: Laptop opens. Deck opens. Life closes. All for a Monday morning review,” he continued.Garg highlighted what he described as a deeper, underlying pressure driving Indian professionals. “Am I doing enough? Earning enough? Growing fast enough? Because someone else always is,” he wrote, adding that while Indians have upgraded their lifestyles, “time to pause” remains elusive.Concluding his post, Garg noted, “In Australia, work fits into life. In India, life fits around work,” while clarifying that he wasn’t passing judgment but raising a question: “Did Tier-1 India trade the basics for luxury?”Social media reactionsThe post quickly gained traction, with several users weighing in on the cultural and systemic differences shaping work-life balance.Reacting to the post, one user wrote, “The quiet constant pressure underneath all of it, am I doing enough, earning enough, growing fast enough – is the part that makes this more than a work-life balance observation. That pressure doesn’t come primarily from the job. It comes from a comparison environment that is specifically designed to make sufficiency feel perpetually out of reach.”“This hit closer to home! Having worked in London and now back in India, the contrast is something I’ve lived firsthand, not just observed. But I’d say it’s a trade-off more than a verdict.In India, we have things that are genuinely luxurious global standards be it your house help, cooks, drivers, someone to handle the groceries, the laundry, the dishes. The stuff that quietly eats into your evenings abroad. In London, ‘doing chores together’ is a daily activity and sometimes even a bonding ritual. So yes, work bleeds into life more in India. But life also comes with more support built in. Abroad, you get your evenings back. In India, you get your mornings taken care of. Neither is perfect. Both are a version of enough!” commented another.“Having lived and worked outside India for 20 years, the difference is less cultural and more systemic. Predictability vs. volatility. The intensity in India comes with ambition, but sustaining it long-term will need a rethink on how we value time and well-being. We all need to positively contribute and improve from here,” wrote a third user.