A video trended on the first week of February 2026, mainly on indian channels and the creator's Instagram page, but I think it's time to spread the word about it to all who didn't catch it and add up to the awareness of how employees are struggling all over the world due to a system that serves only the interest of the employer.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUDi0uok5P6/
The video above was made and posted on the 18th of December 2025, but gained some traction in the early part of February 2026. It shows a worried husband from Gurgaon recording his wife working at 1:30 am. The sad thing was that the wife had just become a new mom, and the baby was nearby as she grinds her way at this time of the night. Now someone could easily say, "Oh she's probably just a night owl". Well, I don't know how valid that is if your job demands a "16 hours a day".
According to the video and the pinned comment by the author, her lovely wife is able to manage both her career and the child together, the problem here is the manager not caring about the fact that this new mother would need some time for herself and the newborn baby, and therefore, 16 hours a day is just inhuman. How many hours do we have in a day? Do the math and all she's left with is a normal human being's sleeping hours according to medical advice. So although she is tough, that could pose a risk for her medically. Add the fact that she would spend some time caring for the baby and well, 1:30 am happens.
Then Quite You Say...
You know the obvious answer, not everyone can afford to do that in the current state of our world, where there is a queue of people waiting at the door to take your job (source of income). So quitting is definitely not an option for this lady, especially in this competitive part of the world.
Let's not even skip the fact that for a normal humanbeing, 16 hours a day is just not viable in the long run. It seems to have been normalized here, and the reason behind it is that anyone would do it if they don't have an option. A system where the masses are poor, and only a few have a chokehold on the abundant resources would definitely produce these kinds of results. People don't seem to question it anymore, they just compete in who can tolerate it more. Yeah, you can only outcompete to take the position if you can sleep less and sacrifice more family time or time for yourself. It's a system that rewards working hard with more work. Nobody should be living like this, but it's unfortunate that tomorrow, those same people will still grind through the night, because the system punishes the person who stops first.
It's a system that teaches us that our worth is measured by how much of our life we are willing to give away.
The man said his wife had passed one of the hardest exams in India and had become a chartered accountant. Obviously, someone who can handle complex audits and high responsibility, yet her workplace made her feel like she was failing. This system shows that you can be objectively competent and become an elite but still psychologically broken by the system.
Reference:
All images are direct screenshots from the Instagram page of the creator of the video - source
