Greater Noida (Staff Correspondent): A LinkedIn post by Finflo co-founder Aayushi Saraswat recently sparked a deep and heated debate on social media. In the post, she highlighted the double standards of work expectations from employees in global corporates and Indian startups. She questioned why when an employee works overtime at a low salary in a reputed multinational company, it is called “hard work” and “commitment”, but if the same expectation is kept at a startup with better pay, it is called a “toxic work culture”.
Based on her experiences, Aayushi wrote, “In big companies, people pull all-nighters to prepare presentations, work on weekends, skip birthday celebrations, even respond to emails during funerals – and they take pride in it. But as soon as a few extra hours or a rush is required in a startup, the same people say – ‘This is not sustainable’, ‘Where is the work-life balance?’” She also added that corporate burnout is often seen as “career growth” and “important experience”, while in startups these things are called “systematic exploitation”.
“There is no problem with exploitation, just the logo should be shiny”
In her post, Saraswat criticized the mindset that employees do not mind working more as long as it is in a famous company. “Startups aren’t perfect. They may be messy – lack structure, lack resources. But they pay better, give equity, and teach real skills. You learn fast, fail fast, and grow in a way that a slide deck at a big company doesn’t.”
Online reactions: Both support and criticism
After the post went viral, a debate broke out on social media. While some agreed with Aayushi, many criticised her views.One user argued, “Is this a genuine concern or just a startupfounder’s complaint? You are a founder, so you would naturally want your team to work fast. But for employees, it’s just a job where they want balance and value.”
Another wrote, “I feel like this post reflects anger that people are no longer tolerating abuse. I have also worked in a startupwhere the founder wanted to control everything alone. It was a very toxic environment.”
A third user saw the issue in a balanced way and wrote, “Both situations – be it a big company or a startup – are wrong if they take away a person’s personal life. Why don’t we imagine a new work culture in which there is no exploitation?”
