Woman turns down 35% salary hike after rude interview experience, sparks debate on workplace culture: ‘I earn less, but I sleep better’

A Mumbai-based professional recently shared a telling story on LinkedIn about how company culture can outweigh even the biggest pay raise.

In her post, Purvi Shah recounted meeting a candidate who walked away from a job offer that promised a 35 per cent salary hike, all because of how she was treated during the interview. Despite the impressive package, the candidate chose not to accept after the hiring manager repeatedly interrupted her in the final round.

“She told me, ‘If that’s how they listen before hiring me, imagine how they’ll listen after,’” Shah wrote, adding that this one line perfectly captured what’s wrong with many modern workplaces .

According to Shah, too many organisations pride themselves on having a “speaking culture” rather than a “listening culture.” They talk abo