The techie argued that Indian tech workers are not necessarily more hardworking, but are often expected to accept demanding schedules. A social media post claiming that Indian tech workers are valued more for their willingness to work long hours than for their talent has sparked a debate on work culture, productivity and boundaries.The post triggered mixed reactions. (Representational image/Gemini AI generated)In a post on X, a Lucknow-based techie, Niraj, argued that Indian tech workers are not necessarily more hardworking, but are often expected to accept demanding schedules.“Indian tech workers aren’t ‘hardworking’. They’re just the cheapest, most obedient labor on the planet,” Niraj wrote. He claimed that long working hours, weekend shifts, festival-time work and late-night calls are routinely accepted by employees with little resistance. “12-14 hour days, weekends, festivals, 2 AM calls, all accepted with ‘sir, no problem’,” he wrote.Comparing them with engineers abroad, he added, “Meanwhile foreign engineers do half the work for 5-8x the money and still have boundaries. We don’t have a talent advantage. We have a desperation advantage. That’s the real Indian tech story tbh.”(Also Read: ‘In America, even a 9-to-5 worker can own Audi’: Indian man compares salaried life in US and India)What did social media say?The post triggered mixed reactions, with several users sharing their own experiences and perspectives.“Wouldn't close it off at tech, I think it's the same in any industry, People should maintain boundaries, but Hard and honest work shouldn't be taken advantage of which is the real problem,” one user commented.“Somehow, this feels true to me. I can’t speak for everyone, but one thing I’ve realized about myself is that I find it very difficult to say “no” when someone asks for help with a task that I know I can do. I think many of us, especially in the Indian work culture, struggle with this. We don’t want to disappoint people or leave others in a difficult situation because of our actions. I always try to complete my work before the deadline. There have been times when I genuinely needed to take leave, but I chose not to because I knew my tasks would remain unfinished.It’s not about being a workaholic. It’s about the sense of responsibility we carry, sometimes more than we should,” shared another.One user argued that many workers are conditioned to put in extra effort while also investing time in learning and improving their skills. “Make no mistake some folks need time to refine unlike someone who gets it right first time. Once you are doing work 9-5, keeping up with latest , refining skills while handling work we are trained to work hard at least me and get stuff done. Also while living like regular folks,” the user wrote.Not everyone agreed with the techie. One user claimed that productivity, rather than working hours, explains the pay gap. “Indian tech workers do 4 hours of work in 14 hours. Western/Chinese engineers do 8 hours of work in 9 hours. Hence, the productivity to payout ratio differs,” the comment read.“True, India's IT success is mostly built on cheap labor and willingness to work crazy hours, not superior talent. Foreign engineers get paid more because they set boundaries and deliver focused results,” another user wrote.Bhavya Sukheja is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times with over 6 years of experience in digital journalism. She specialises in covering stories that reflect everyday human experiences, with a focus on viral videos, social media trends, and human-interest features that inform readers while sparking meaningful conversations. She loves chasing page views and finding stories that tug at readers’ heartstrings.