"Forget Work-Life Balance, You'll Be Called Dumb Daily": US Entrepreneur's Warning Goes Viral

An online debate has erupted among tech professionals after an unemployed software engineer in India shared a blunt message received from a US company founder. The message, which openly demanded that employees surrender their personal lives and accept daily insults, has raised major concerns about the exploitation of desperate job seekers.

The engineer had been out of work for several months and decided to message the American founder directly on social media to ask about open positions. The founder replied almost immediately but laid down a series of harsh conditions for joining the firm.

According to the message shared on the Reddit forum r/developersIndia, candidates must be willing to sacrifice their work-life balance entirely. The founder wrote that employees would not have a personal life and would need to learn infrastructure well. Furthermore, the founder stated that workers could not have an ego because they would be told that they are "dumb" and need to learn almost every day.

Is this thing getting super normalized in India ? (a US CEO messaged me this btw)
by u/Holiday-Ad-5883 in developersIndia

The post quickly drew hundreds of reactions from the Indian tech community. Many users described the requirements as an immediate warning sign and advised the engineer to avoid the company entirely.

Several commentators suggested that the job sounded like an extreme form of exploitation, especially after the engineer revealed that the role required working mandatory night shifts to match US time zones from a physical office in India.

However, the discussion also highlighted the difficult reality of the current employment market. Some users admitted that they would consider taking the job out of pure financial desperation. In a struggling job market, some young professionals feel they have no choice but to accept toxic conditions rather than remain sleepless and unemployed.

Many community members noted that harsh management practices are becoming increasingly common, as companies take advantage of the high number of engineering graduates competing for limited roles.

Meanwhile, a global report released by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva on April 22, 2026, highlights the human cost of toxic workplace cultures. The report estimates that more than 840,000 people die each year worldwide from health conditions linked to psychosocial risks such as long working hours, job insecurity, and workplace harassment, highlighting the serious consequences of work-related stress on health and well-being.

(Disclaimer: This story is based on a viral Reddit post and subsequent public responses. NDTV has not independently verified the claims made by the individuals mentioned in the post.)