An anonymous tech employee shared his struggles with work-life balance after securing a ₹7.8 crore senior manager role but losing his marriage in the
In today's fast-paced world, achieving career success often comes at a significant personal cost. The story of an employee at one of the world's largest tech and e-commerce companies has gone viral and has also brought to light the harsh reality of work-life balance and the sacrifices individuals make in pursuit of professional goals. This employee, who recently shared his experience on the anonymous professional community Blind, revealed how his consistent pursuit of promotion led to personal happiness being sacrificed.
A worker in a top technology and e-commerce firm spent years of his life trying to reach a highly desired promotion. He neglected his family, missed important moments, and finally achieved his professional objective, rising to senior manager with a handsome salary of ₹7.8 crore. But his personal life collapsed as his wife sought a divorce.
In a Blind post, the worker revealed how his professional ambitions ruined his personal life. He spoke about the pivotal family moments he had to miss due to his demanding work. The post has attracted many who have discussed work-life balance and the personal cost of career success.
“My wife asked for a divorce,” he wrote. He spent three years working diligently to earn his promotion. His work involved long days, meeting at 7 am and staying until 9 pm, essentially making it a 14-hour day. “Joined 3 years ago as a stupid senior who keeps asking for a promotion. Since I asked, the amount of work kept piling and my scopes kept growing. It eventually reached the point that I coordinated EU + Asia team by default, so my meetings start at 7 am and end at 9 pm,” the anonymous user explained.
One of the saddest things he learned was that he was in meetings all day and missed the birth of his daughter. After her birth, he could not be there for his wife, who had postpartum depression, because of his work schedule. “On the day my daughter was born, I was in meetings almost all day. When my wife had postpartum depression, I had a meeting conflict and did not go to the therapist with her. She asked for a divorce,” he revealed.
Despite achieving his promotion and seeing his total compensation increase to $900,000 (₹7.8 crore), the employee found little joy in his success. “I received good news that my promotion was approved today. It does not feel happy as I hoped, but I feel empty and indifferent,” he wrote. “Can't stop asking myself what am I doing with my life. But I guess in this layoff s**tstorm era, I should be happy with what I have, right? But how to be happy?” he questioned.
The post has caused mixed reactions. Some users sympathized with him, realising the reminder to put personal relationships first. Others condemned him for his tone-deaf post, some users said, no work should precede family. “OP, even the way you speak, you sound arrogant and tone-deaf: your wife/daughter are about to leave you and all you care about is RSUs. Also, what kind of lunatic sits through meetings all day when his daughter is being born?” wrote one commenter.
Another person said , “As we grow older, all of us remember some moments of our lives and smile. We experience happiness as we relive those moments in our heads. Have you heard anyone remembering the day they were promoted?”
On X, where a screenshot of the post was shared, reactions were similar. “I don't see this as a terrible dilemma. ALWAYS prioritize family over everything,” said one user. Others agreed that such a high salary is only possible when all your time is devoted to work.