'If bootlicking was an Olympic sport...': Redditors on Hindi fluency, unspoken 'toxic culture' in Indian corporates

A Reddit user recently underlined the 'unspoken' toxic culture that governs Indian corporates. As per the post, the Redditor had a work experience of four years across three unicorn startups in multiple cities. 

A significant part of it included the prevalent use of Hindi language among employees at corporate offices in the country. " “Hindi hai, bro? Cool, let’s switch.” Imagine walking into a meeting that starts with a polite “How’s your day?” in English, only for the next 30 minutes to dissolve into rapid-fire Hindi. Jokes fly, ideas bounce, and you’re just…nodding," the post read. 

He also said that it is during the 'chai breaks' and lunch time that you suddenly you are the outsider in your own office as colleagues bond over shared references, memes and inside jokes you simply have no idea of. 

"You smile awkwardly, laugh a beat too late. It’s not malice; it’s just…habit. But when promotions hinge on “culture fit,” how do you fit into a culture that feels linguistically gated?" as per the post. The user further mentioned that smoke breaks were key for networking and career-critical conversations. 

The post went viral and Redditors were quick to say that they could totally relate the user's experience. Some users also shared their own experiences while dealing with the unspoken Hindi fluency clause. 

"Hindi at the workplace happens even in companies like Google lol. Some use it as a competitive edge to give their managers the impression that 'Hey this other guy looks clueless during meetings'. South Indians do it too if they have Northie managers. If Bootlicking was an Olympic sport, we'd sweep all medals," a user wrote. 

"Your point no 1: I agree with you. Never seen a hindi guy facing same awkward situation in a Kannada majority group. I mostly noticed kannada employees start speaking hindi too make their non kannadiga colleague happier," another user said. 

"I can totally relate. I'm from the Northeast, so fluent Hindi was a challenge for me too. There were many instances where I struggled to understand certain phrases and felt a bit out of place in conversations. Also, I’ve noticed that if you're not part of the smoking group, you're often left out of casual conversation," a third user shared. 

"2nd point is true even internationally. a lot of important decisions happened on smoke breaks. we eventually made a rule of no business related discussions while on smoke breaks. this only worked because we’re a small startup," a fourth user noted.