Indian woman starts business after moving back from US, says ‘India’s work culture gave me PTSD’

An entrepreneur who moved back to India after spending 12 years in the US recently shared her experience of returning to the country, saying that while she no longer has to deal with visa-related hassles, adjusting to the Indian workplace was a major culture shock.

Khyati, a startup founder, shared her experience in an Instagram video, recalling how she initially moved back to India with her husband 4 years ago. She said that the absence of visa concerns gave them greater freedom to explore different ideas, including starting a business or taking a break from work.

However, she added that her experience at an Indian workplace was very different. After quitting her US job, she found employment in India but was taken aback by what she described as widespread office politics.

“I quit my job in the US and I moved back because I wanted to take a break. But I found a job in India, but the politics. Oh my God, dude! Like, I never imagined that. It was such a toxic work culture,” she said in the Instagram video.

“India’s work culture gave me PTSD,” she wrote in the caption of the post.

Khyati said that office politics became one of the biggest challenges she faced after moving back. “Managers are just saving their a**es, and they are ready to throw you under the bus at a fraction of a second,” she said, adding that employees who remain quiet and agree with their managers tend to have an easier time.

She described this as a “major work culture shock” and said the experience eventually influenced her decision to leave her job and focus full-time on her business.

“That actually led me to quit my job after my maternity leave and, you know, just go full-time into my business because I literally have PTSD from, you know, working at a toxic company, and I just cannot imagine going back to a job in India at any point,” she said, adding that her experience was very different from what she had encountered while working in the US.

“Everything has its pros and cons, but basically, everything’s poison. Choose your poison,” she concluded.

(Also Read: Indian woman leaves US after H-1B setback, weighs life in Canada or India: ‘Not the end of the world’)

One user wrote, “Sadly Indian Manager working in the US and working for US companies have brought that same toxic work culture into the west.”

“India has one of the worst office cultures and politics in most private companies. Increased corruption as well. I thank God a billion times for taking me out of that place,” commented another.

“Indian work culture and ethics suck. It has been the same for last 20 years and keeps getting worse. It was suffocating to work there for a short while where I also decided to leave London, UK and settle in India. I lasted 1.5 years and filed a Permanent residency for Canada in 2015 and immigrated in 2016. Never looked back. Don’t miss one bit,” shared a third user.

“I worked 10 years in india before moving to US , and the office politics in India had almost destroyed my career. Now in US for past 10 years and i have mostly grown , there is politics here too but mostly done by Indian or philippino managers . Yt managers are ok. So despite visa issues , I am going to stay here as long as I can because I can’t deal with Indian office politics,” wrote one user.