Start-up boss says employees love being overworked at big companies but.... Netizens say 'big brands have value'

Aayushi Saraswat, co-founder of the financial startup FinFloww, recently sparked a heated discussion on LinkedIn when she drew attention to the glaring contradictions in how employees perceive effort and dedication—depending on whether they're working for a global corporation or a homegrown startup. Her words, though bold, revealed a sobering truth about today’s professional mindset and what people are really chasing in their careers.

She questioned why working late nights for a multinational company earning ₹6.5 lakh annually is glamorized as “the grind,” yet putting in ten focused hours a day at a startup for ₹15 lakh is immediately labeled as “toxic.” According to her, there's a baffling cultural bias in how people interpret work ethic. When a globally known brand drains your energy, it's conveniently labeled as gaining “corporate experience.” But if an Indian entrepreneur pushes for commitment and extra effort, it's ridiculed as a “bad culture.”

She went further, pointing out how employees at prestigious firms like Big 4 consultancies or elite wealth management firms routinely sacrifice their personal lives for tasks with little long-term impact. These employees stay up all night to perfect PowerPoint slides that will ultimately be ignored. They skip holidays, cancel family celebrations, and even check emails during deeply personal moments like funerals—calling it “building a career reputation.”

But Saraswat claimed they’re not doing it out of passion or purpose. They're doing it for branding—because having a globally recognized name on a business card feels like a badge of success. Yet when a startup demands adaptability, fast responses, or just a few additional hours of work, the narrative shifts dramatically. Suddenly people protest with lines like, “This isn’t healthy,” “I need boundaries,” or “My job isn't my entire life.”

This, she says, reveals a deep-rooted double standard.

People seem willing to accept being overworked—as long as their office has a shiny foreign logo and polished interiors. The exploitation is tolerable if the employer is a Fortune 500 company, but not if it’s a scrappy local venture still trying to find its footing.

Saraswat clarified that she isn’t saying startups are flawless. Many of them do struggle with chaos, inconsistency, and the absence of formal systems. But they often provide more competitive salaries, ownership through equity, and genuine learning opportunities. In such environments, employees gain not just theoretical knowledge but hands-on experience—from managing execution to making decisions with accountability.

Startups, she argued, accelerate growth. They offer sharper lessons, more meaningful failures, and broader exposure than what any polished corporate training can provide. So perhaps, Saraswat concluded, the problem isn’t really about culture at all. The problem is perception.
And until people stop measuring the value of hard work by the size of the brand behind it, the hypocrisy will continue.

Netizens React

Saraswat's post went viral on the Indian Workplace subreddit. "I'd be willing to guess she's a startup founder who is sad that she can't exploit employees without them complaining. I used to work for one such startup and it was all a one-man show. Toxic af..." wrote one X user.

Another quipped that she's just upset she won't be able to exploit labour. "Behold! The startup founder is upset over her inability to exploit her employees in the name of startup culture..." Read the comment.

Another observed that people are more dedicated when they work in a major firm, as the brand name helps as a career boost. "The brand name has value on a person's CV. Saying you worked at EY, Deloitte, or some other MNC will translate to better opportunities in the future than saying you worked till 3 am at FinFloww (her company)," they wrote.

Saraswat is an alumna of Delhi University. She is the co-founder of two startups FinnFlow and The Crazy Part.