Indian Vs US Corporate Life: Quiet Offices To Strict Boundaries, Amazon Employee Shares Five Differences

An Indian woman working in New York City has shared five cultural shifts she experienced as a corporate employee in the US. After seven years in India, an Amazon employee, who identified herself as Varsha, has shared the key differences she experienced as she transitioned to US corporate life.

She noted differences like solo lunches and less social interaction at work. "Same job role, new country, but feels like a whole new world. After seven years of working in India, I moved to the US with the same company, but the shift hit me harder than I expected," she posted in an Instagram reel.

The product marketing lead at Amazon said that in the US, most employees eat alone at their desks or take a walk. Social lunch breaks are uncommon. 

She also shared that US offices are more formal and quieter. Unlike Indian settings, casual desk chats among employees are rare. "No chai pe charcha. No stopping by someone’s desk to vent or laugh. Coffee chats have to be scheduled, often weeks ahead," she said.

She also noted the culture of self-reliance in US workplaces, a shift from the practice in India, where hand-holding is more common.

"In India, there's often more hand-holding, more people checking in. Here, you're expected to figure things out on your own," she added.

Another difference that Varsha experienced in the US was employees' preference for keeping work and personal life separate. According to her, while small talks do happen in US workplaces, they don’t convert into "deeper bonds" among employees.

"Small talk? Yes. Deep bonds? Rare. People tend to keep work and life separate, which can feel isolating at first," she highlighted.

She also posted her observation on the respect for an employee's boundaries. "But… boundaries are beautifully respected. When people log off, they really log off," she added.

The Amazon employee concluded her post by saying that while nobody prepares one for the emotional shift of working abroad, it gets "easier with time."