An Indian man living in Poland shared how one unexpected shift in work culture completely changed the way he viewed success, saying the biggest surprise for many Indians in Europe is not the salary or shorter work hours, but how life outside the office actually comes first.<\/p>\n
Shared on the Instagram account Our Unscripted Life, the man opened up about his experience of adjusting to life and work in Poland, reflecting on the striking difference between European and Indian work culture.<\/p>\n
In the clip, he shared snippets from his everyday life in Poland, from peaceful morning walks and office routines to quiet evenings and moments outside work. Through a voice-over, he explained what he called the \u201cbiggest work culture shock\u201d for Indians moving to Europe.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest work culture shock that every Indian gets when they start working in Europe is not the work hours or the pay,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s realising that work is not the centre of life here.\u201d<\/p>\n
He went on to explain how people in Europe often seem genuinely excited about life after office hours, unlike the hustle-heavy culture many are used to. According to him, staying late at work or constantly appearing busy is rarely glorified.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the biggest surprises for us was seeing people even turn down promotions,\u201d he said, adding that for many, protecting their peace, personal time, and family life mattered more than climbing the corporate ladder.<\/p>\n
Watch the video here:<\/p>\n
The video struck up a conversation online around work-life balance, burnout, and the differing definitions of success across countries.<\/p>\n
In the caption, the creator reflected further on the shift in mindset, writing, \u201cOne thing Europe changed for us? Success stopped meaning \u2018always being busy.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that family dinners, peaceful evenings, and weekends that actually feel like weekends made him rethink what a \u201csuccessful\u201d life looks like.<\/p>\n
Social media users quickly weighed in, with many agreeing that the perspective felt relatable, especially for those who had lived or travelled abroad. One user said the observation felt accurate and that anyone who had spent enough time across Europe would likely notice a similar attitude toward work and life.<\/p>\n
Others, however, pointed out that experiences can vary depending on the industry. One commenter shared that in the pharmaceutical manufacturing field in the Netherlands, the reality was quite different and work pressure remained intense.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, some users turned the discussion inward, questioning what they would personally prioritise, a higher salary or greater peace of mind, sparking a debate about ambition, burnout, and what truly makes life fulfilling.<\/p>\n
– Ends<\/p>\n
Published By: <\/p>\n
Yashna Talwar<\/p>\n
Published On: <\/p>\n
May 20, 2026 16:50 IST<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An Indian man living in Poland shared how one unexpected shift in work culture completely changed the way…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7755,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[6563,6559,6566,6558,6562,6564,9,6565,6561,6560],"class_list":["post-7754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-poland","tag-burnout-debate","tag-europe-work-culture","tag-indian-expat-experience","tag-indian-in-poland","tag-instagram-video","tag-life-beyond-office","tag-poland","tag-promotions-and-personal-time","tag-success-mindset","tag-work-life-balance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7754"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7754\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}