Overview

• On July 18, Harsh Goenka posted a video on X portraying 9-to-5 jobs as a life-consuming trap and urging viewers to “wake up before it’s too late.”
• The clip uses a series of growing boxes to symbolize how a steady salary expands a worker’s role but confines their freedom, concluding with an elderly retiree’s failed attempt to reclaim lost youth on a skateboard.
• Social media responses diverged: some users endorsed the message, calling routine employment a “trap,” while others highlighted the irony of an employer denouncing the very jobs his companies provide.
• Critics questioned what actionable alternatives Goenka offers beyond his critique, demanding practical models for career fulfillment and improved work-life balance.
• The online debate taps into wider concerns about conventional office roles, career satisfaction and the need for new frameworks beyond the standard 9-to-5 structure.