Woman shares 12 Swiss workplace habits that Indians may struggle to believe

An Indian woman working in Germany shared the workplace practices she found surprising about Swiss corporate culture, sparking a discussion about the differences between work environments in India and abroad.

Simran Khokha, a product manager based in Germany, shared the post on her Instagram account, where she spoke about a friend working at a Swiss corporate office and the workplace habits that stood out to her.

She clarified that the differences were not just about salaries, but about the overall approach to work, productivity and employee boundaries.

According to Khokha, one of the biggest differences was how meetings were handled. She wrote that meetings in many Swiss offices were expected to start on time, with even a few minutes of delay being considered unprofessional.

She wrote that employees were often judged more by outcomes rather than the number of hours they spent at their desks. Working extremely long hours every day was not automatically viewed as dedication and could instead indicate poor workload management.

Another point she mentioned was the approach towards holidays. Khokha said employees were encouraged to use their vacation days, with managers sometimes reminding team members to take breaks instead of seeing leave as a lack of commitment.

She also pointed out that after-work boundaries were generally respected, with colleagues avoiding contacting each other outside office hours unless there was a genuine emergency.

The post further mentioned that employees could openly disagree with managers during discussions if they had facts and reasoning to support their views. Blocking calendars for focused work was also described as normal, as employees were not expected to remain available every minute of the day.

Khokha added that communicating an excessive workload was not viewed as complaining but as responsible communication. Similarly, staying late every evening was not necessarily considered a sign of commitment, as performance and results were given more importance than office presence.

She also emphasised some cultural differences in hierarchy, saying senior leaders were often treated like regular colleagues in everyday situations. In her example, a CEO standing in the same cafeteria queue as employees would not create a special situation.

The post also mentioned that interns and junior employees were not expected to handle personal tasks for seniors, such as making coffee or running errands, and that workplace responsibilities were shared equally.

Take a look at the post here:

The post led to discussions among users comparing workplace cultures across countries. Several commenters said the differences felt significant, with one user describing such an environment as “a breath of fresh air” after spending more than a decade working in India.

Others said the contrast showed how differently companies approached productivity, hierarchy and work-life balance.

An Indian woman working in Germany shared the workplace practices she found surprising about Swiss corporate culture, sparking a discussion about the differences between work environments in India and abroad.

Simran Khokha, a product manager based in Germany, shared the post on her Instagram account, where she spoke about a friend working at a Swiss corporate office and the workplace habits that stood out to her.

She clarified that the differences were not just about salaries, but about the overall approach to work, productivity and employee boundaries.

According to Khokha, one of the biggest differences was how meetings were handled. She wrote that meetings in many Swiss offices were expected to start on time, with even a few minutes of delay being considered unprofessional.

She wrote that employees were often judged more by outcomes rather than the number of hours they spent at their desks. Working extremely long hours every day was not automatically viewed as dedication and could instead indicate poor workload management.

Another point she mentioned was the approach towards holidays. Khokha said employees were encouraged to use their vacation days, with managers sometimes reminding team members to take breaks instead of seeing leave as a lack of commitment.

She also pointed out that after-work boundaries were generally respected, with colleagues avoiding contacting each other outside office hours unless there was a genuine emergency.

The post further mentioned that employees could openly disagree with managers during discussions if they had facts and reasoning to support their views. Blocking calendars for focused work was also described as normal, as employees were not expected to remain available every minute of the day.

Khokha added that communicating an excessive workload was not viewed as complaining but as responsible communication. Similarly, staying late every evening was not necessarily considered a sign of commitment, as performance and results were given more importance than office presence.

She also emphasised some cultural differences in hierarchy, saying senior leaders were often treated like regular colleagues in everyday situations. In her example, a CEO standing in the same cafeteria queue as employees would not create a special situation.

The post also mentioned that interns and junior employees were not expected to handle personal tasks for seniors, such as making coffee or running errands, and that workplace responsibilities were shared equally.

Take a look at the post here:

The post led to discussions among users comparing workplace cultures across countries. Several commenters said the differences felt significant, with one user describing such an environment as “a breath of fresh air” after spending more than a decade working in India.

Others said the contrast showed how differently companies approached productivity, hierarchy and work-life balance.