Bengaluru woman compares corporate life to school with ‘never-ending exams’

Remember the feeling of finishing one exam only to start worrying about the next one? For Bengaluru-based professional Charu Gupta, that anxiety did not end with school. After three years in corporate life, she says Mondays still feel like another test, while weekends disappear into a mix of pending work, procrastination and anxiety.

In a video shared on Instagram, Gupta described the mental cycle she experiences at work, comparing each day to another exam she simply hopes to get through.

“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.

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A post shared by Charu Gupta (@the_miss_gupta)

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From school homework to office backlog

For Gupta, the school comparison continues once the workday ends. The unfinished tasks on her laptop, she said, feel much like homework waiting to be completed.

“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.

That leaves her caught in an uncomfortable middle ground. She is reluctant to make weekend plans because of the pending workload, but also unable to bring herself to complete it.

Weekend arrives, but the anxiety stays

Gupta said Saturdays and Sundays do not necessarily feel like a real break because unfinished work remains in the back of her mind.

“I will just be anxious and I’ll panic all the time until Sunday night arrives,” she said.

With the deadline continuing to loom, she said she eventually opens her work only when there is no time left and focuses on completing the most urgent tasks.

“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?”

Her description captures the tension between wanting to disconnect from work and remaining mentally tied to everything that is unfinished.

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Her comparison resonates with other professionals

The video prompted several users to say they recognised the same feeling in their own working lives.

One person wrote, “Same here & I love Saturday no worry about next day.”

Another commenter, who identified themselves as a manager, said, “Bro I'm the manager and I feel the same.”

A teacher also joined the discussion, writing, “I am a teacher. And i still don't want to go to school.”

Another user recalled experiencing anxiety even during weekends despite having a flexible job.

“Bro leave that job been their even though flexible tha I used to have anxiety on sat that Monday ko jana hai,” the user wrote.

Gupta’s post has therefore resonated with workers across different professions, with several responses reflecting the same sense of dread that can accompany the transition from a relaxing weekend to another week of deadlines, unfinished tasks and workplace pressure.