The European professional who recently relocated to the National Capital Region (NCR) revealed that the biggest surprise didn’t come from the food, traffic, or weather. A foreigner shared their experience of moving to India for work, sparking debate about cultural differences. Instead, it was the way people introduce themselves.
“Every time I meet someone, they start listing their achievements and background without me even asking, they wrote. “This has happened to me multiple times. Then, they ask a lot of probing questions as if they want to place you in a hypothetical hierarchy so they know how to treat you accordingly. “Now, in my culture (I’m European), it is very rude to do this and you should always be humble and either let people find out about your achievements indirectly or sometimes never. I’m not saying this is a better approach – my point is that I’m not used to behaving any differently in this regard,” they stated, highlighting how it is different from India.
“My question here becomes: should I do the same and hype myself up when I meet other people so they don’t treat me badly? Or should I stay in my lane and let people think whatever they want to think? If I do the latter, then will I get taken advantage of? I’d also appreciate any other tips you might have to adapt to and thrive in an Indian work culture. Thank you! “Ignore those 6x. There are humble souls here too. Bragging is looked down upon by truly learned ones. Do what matches your ethics. The respect impact is 100x if discovered, or coming from someone else. It’s just that the population here covers the whole spectrum of personalities. That’s where your braggers are coming from,” one user wrote in the comment section. “My Indian parents taught me that bragging is tacky and low class to the extreme, and one must always downplay one’s achievements.
See the post here: The post, which received over 3,000 upvotes, sparked a lively discussion, drawing a mix of explanations, reassurance, and regional context from locals and fellow expats.
“It’s strange too, as in my subculture in India, bragging is believed to attract something called ‘evil eyes’, so everyone downplays their achievements and salary; they try to compliment the other person, and the other person usually does the same,” another user wrote.
