A 26-year-old woman’s candid Reddit post has sparked a wide conversation about workplace culture, reverse migration, and expectations versus reality.
In her post titled “Moved back to India for work, now I’m seriously regretting it”, the user recounts how a decision driven by emotion has left her questioning her future.
Having spent most of her childhood and schooling in Singapore, she wrote that India always felt like home during her visits. “I did most of my schooling in Singapore, and India was always my favourite place to visit. I loved coming back so much that I even chose to do my undergrad here,” she noted.
Moved Back to India for Work, Now I’m Seriously Regretting It.
byu/punk0333 inIndianWorkplace
After completing her undergraduate studies, she moved to London for her master’s degree and stayed on, taking up a job she says she thoroughly enjoyed. “I loved my job, and for reasons completely unrelated to work (and honestly, pretty stupid in hindsight), I left,” she admitted, calling her departure from London, a city she had dreamt about since childhood, her “first mistake.”
Following her stint in the UK, she returned to Singapore and joined an investment bank. But within six months, her entire team was dissolved, with several responsibilities shifting to India. Having already worked closely with the India-based team, she was encouraged to relocate.
“The pay was obviously lower, but the idea of being home felt comforting, so I said yes,” she wrote. But just three months into her new role in India, she realised that the transition was much harder than she had expected.
‘Toxic Boss Culture’ and Office Politics
She described the work environment in India as drastically different from her experiences abroad. “The boss culture is toxic, the politics drain me, and the work environment feels worlds apart from what I was used to in UK. I miss the openness, the structure, and the respect for boundaries. Here, I’m literally having to justify taking a day off,” she wrote.
Struggling to adapt, she turned to the Reddit community for advice, asking whether her discomfort was simply temporary or a sign that she should consider returning to Europe. “Do you think I should apply back to UK & Europe?” she asked.
Netizens React
Her post received hundreds of responses, many from users who shared similar experiences or warned her that her expectations of India may have been unrealistic.
One user commented, “That’s why whenever there’s a thing between emotions vs brain you should always choose brain. If you don’t have any aged parents, better to leave.” Another wrote bluntly, “Yes go back. Your idea of India was a fantasised version. What you are seeing now is reality. Go back to Singapore or London.”
Others echoed the exhaustion that often comes with navigating corporate culture in India. “Go back if you can. For people like us, who’ve been fighting this culture since the first day of our work lives, it’s honestly exhausting,” one user said.
Another commenter added, “That’s Indian corporate for you… a truly heartbreaking experience. Don’t believe LinkedIn posts and social media platforms. It’s hell out there.”
Not all responses encouraged her to leave. Several users advised exploring better employers instead of exiting the country entirely. “Not denying your experience at all, but you may also want to take a look at changing your employer depending on possibilities in your field, if you see yourself staying back in India,” one person suggested. “If you do end up in a good atmosphere, nothing feels greater than being home. It’s a toss of luck at the end of the day.”
Humour also found its way into the thread, with one commenter writing, “It’s always funny when people despite everyone telling them not to come back, come back and then regret it,” while another quipped, “Love it when people trying to be SRK from Swades get their dose of reality check LOL.”
Her story taps into a growing trend of young professionals returning to India for emotional or personal reasons, only to find the workplace culture overwhelming. The responses reflect both empathy and a stark reminder: the romanticised idea of coming home can clash sharply with on-ground realities.
