Bengaluru Woman Says Corporate Life Is ‘School With Salaries’: ‘Exams’ Every Monday (WATCH)

A viral video by professional Charu Gupta compares corporate life to school, where deadlines feel like exams and unfinished tasks like homework. Her weekend anxiety over pending work and procrastination has resonated with viewers, sparking debate about workplace stress and work-life balance.

School may be over, but the anxiety of having an exam tomorrow apparently does not disappear for everyone. A Bengaluru-based professional has gone viral after comparing corporate life to being back in school, where unfinished assignments, looming deadlines and Monday mornings feel like another round of examinations.

Charu Gupta, who has been working for three years, shared an Instagram video describing how her experience of office life often reminds her of her school days. Her comparison centres on the constant feeling that there is always another task to complete and another deadline approaching.

“It’s been three years since I’ve been working at a job, but even today I feel like I’m in school and my exams are going on. It’s like: just let me pass today somehow, let today just get over at the office somehow, and I’ll be better prepared for tomorrow’s exam,” she said.

Watch the viral video here: 

For Gupta, the similarities do not end with exams. She compared unfinished office tasks to school homework and assignments, saying the pending workload can follow her home even after the working day ends.

“So after going home, just like having to do assignments or homework, I have so much pending work that I'm supposed to do, but I won't do it. Today is Saturday. Now I won’t make any plans because I have a lot of work to do, but I won’t do that work either,” she said.

Her description of the weekend is perhaps what made the post especially relatable. Instead of completely switching off, Gupta said she spends her free time thinking about unfinished work while simultaneously postponing it. That creates a cycle in which the weekend passes without either completing the tasks or properly enjoying the break.

“I will just be anxious and I’ll panic all the time until Sunday night arrives. And when I have no other option left, only then will I open it, finish just the most urgent things, and shut it down. And I'll just pray, 'God, please just help me pass tomorrow as well somehow.' Why am I like this?” she said.

The video resonated with social media users who recognised the familiar feeling of Sunday-night anxiety before Monday. Her experience has sparked conversations about workplace pressure, pending tasks, procrastination and the difficulty of maintaining a genuine work-life balance.

The comparison has a simple logic: school had homework, assignments and exams, while corporate life brings deadlines, meetings and performance expectations. For many workers, Gupta's post suggests that the setting may change after graduation, but the feeling of constantly preparing for the next test can remain.