Woman Lists 5 Striking Differences Between Indian And US Corporate Life: "Nobody really prepares you..."

Varsha, a product marketing lead at Amazon in New York City, shared her experience of transitioning from India to the corporate world in the United States. Highlighting key differences she encountered, Ms Varsha wrote in an Instagram post, "Same job role, new country, but feels like a whole new world." She said that after seven years of working in India, she moved to the US working for the same company, but the shift hit her "harder than I expected".

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A post shared by Varsha | New York City (@newgirl_in_newyorkcity)

What are the five differences?

1. Unlike in India, lunches in the US are mostly solo, with people eating at their desks or taking a walk, she said. Social lunch breaks aren't common. "Lunches are mostly solo. People eat at their desks or take a walk-social lunch breaks aren't really a thing," she revealed.
2. She said that US offices are more formal and quieter, with colleagues rarely stopping by each other's desks to chat. Coffee chats need to be scheduled weeks in advance.
3. Varsha noted that US corporate culture expects employees to be more self-reliant, figuring things out on their own, unlike in India where there's often more handholding. "In India, there's often more handholding, more people checking in."
4. She also mentioned feeling isolated initially due to the separation of work and personal life, with small talk rarely evolving into deep discussions.
5. Pointing out a positive aspect, Varsha highlighted that there's work-life balance in the US, where people "log off" and focus on personal life, maintaining healthy boundaries.

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"Nobody really prepares you for the emotional shift of working abroad-but if you're in the middle of it: you're not alone. It does get easier. You just start finding your rhythm, one lonely lunch and awkward coffee chat at a time," she wrote in the post.

The post received a mixed response, with one user saying, "Maybe it is different for your team! I have teammates from different countries and we eat together almost every day!"

"I agree with everything you've put in the caption. It was such a a shock to me initially. I miss the chai pe charcha," another user agreed to her situation.

"Slowly and surely you will get used to it and even start liking it! I did when I used to work in the US," a third user wrote.