'He earns ₹40 LPA but works 3 hours?': Delhi entrepreneur flags parents’ concerns in AI era
According to Dhawan, advances in artificial intelligence have changed how quickly skilled developers can deliver results, reducing the need for visibly long working hours.
- Mar 25, 2026,
- Updated Mar 25, 2026 8:05 PM IST
A LinkedIn post by Delhi entrepreneur Rohan Dhawan has triggered discussion around changing workplace norms after he shared an incident involving his 24-year-old nephew, who is a remote developer at a YC-backed AI startup and earns ₹40 lakh per annum.
In the post, Dhawan wrote that the young man’s parents were uneasy not because of his salary, but because of how little time he appeared to spend working each day.
After a family dinner, Dhawan said the nephew’s father pulled him aside and said:
“Rohan, ye kuch karta hi nahi. 2-3 ghante laptop kholta hai aur band kar deta hai. Kuch illegal toh nahi kar raha?”
(Rohan, he doesn’t seem to do anything. He opens his laptop for 2-3 hours and then shuts it. He’s not doing anything illegal, right?)
Dhawan used the episode to point to what he described as a wider disconnect between traditional ideas of hard work and the way AI is reshaping productivity.
“Had he been at TCS or Infosys, burning 12-hour days for half the salary, that would’ve made them proud,” he wrote.
According to Dhawan, advances in artificial intelligence have changed how quickly skilled developers can deliver results, reducing the need for visibly long working hours.
“We’re currently in an era where AI has genuinely compressed eight hours of work into three to four hours of focused effort. A sharp developer today with the right tools can out-execute someone grinding 12-hour days the old way. That’s just the reality of 2026,” he wrote.
He argued that many young professionals now feel pressured to appear busy even when their work is getting done faster and more efficiently.
“So now you have a generation embarrassed about finishing work early, pretending to be busier than they are because exhaustion looks respectable and ease looks illegal,” Dhawan said in the post.
He ended with a broader point about how performance should be judged in a changing workplace.
“Output should matter more than optics. Results should matter more than hours. Please don’t doubt your kids. Doubt your own measurements.”
Generational and trust gap
The post drew a wide range of responses online, with several users pointing to a deeper layer behind the parents’ concern.
“I agree with your point, but I also think parents’ concern sometimes comes from uncertainty rather than old-school thinking alone. Today, high income with low visible effort can be hard for many families to understand, especially when there are also illegitimate ways people make money online. The real need is more awareness about how modern work and AI-driven productivity actually look,” one user said.
Another user suggested the concern may not be entirely misplaced, linking it to discipline and long-term stability.
“The parents could be reacting to something deeper — integrity and long-term resilience. Early success without discipline can create brittle individuals. But yes, I agree that hours are a poor proxy for value,” the user wrote.
A third comment framed the debate as part of a larger structural shift.
“We’re moving from a time-based definition of work to an output-based one. That transition is bound to feel uncomfortable,” the user said.
The discussion reflects a broader shift as AI-driven workflows redefine productivity and challenge long-held assumptions about effort, time, and value in the workplace.
A LinkedIn post by Delhi entrepreneur Rohan Dhawan has triggered discussion around changing workplace norms after he shared an incident involving his 24-year-old nephew, who is a remote developer at a YC-backed AI startup and earns ₹40 lakh per annum.
In the post, Dhawan wrote that the young man’s parents were uneasy not because of his salary, but because of how little time he appeared to spend working each day.
After a family dinner, Dhawan said the nephew’s father pulled him aside and said:
“Rohan, ye kuch karta hi nahi. 2-3 ghante laptop kholta hai aur band kar deta hai. Kuch illegal toh nahi kar raha?”
(Rohan, he doesn’t seem to do anything. He opens his laptop for 2-3 hours and then shuts it. He’s not doing anything illegal, right?)
Dhawan used the episode to point to what he described as a wider disconnect between traditional ideas of hard work and the way AI is reshaping productivity.
“Had he been at TCS or Infosys, burning 12-hour days for half the salary, that would’ve made them proud,” he wrote.
According to Dhawan, advances in artificial intelligence have changed how quickly skilled developers can deliver results, reducing the need for visibly long working hours.
“We’re currently in an era where AI has genuinely compressed eight hours of work into three to four hours of focused effort. A sharp developer today with the right tools can out-execute someone grinding 12-hour days the old way. That’s just the reality of 2026,” he wrote.
He argued that many young professionals now feel pressured to appear busy even when their work is getting done faster and more efficiently.
“So now you have a generation embarrassed about finishing work early, pretending to be busier than they are because exhaustion looks respectable and ease looks illegal,” Dhawan said in the post.
He ended with a broader point about how performance should be judged in a changing workplace.
“Output should matter more than optics. Results should matter more than hours. Please don’t doubt your kids. Doubt your own measurements.”
Generational and trust gap
The post drew a wide range of responses online, with several users pointing to a deeper layer behind the parents’ concern.
“I agree with your point, but I also think parents’ concern sometimes comes from uncertainty rather than old-school thinking alone. Today, high income with low visible effort can be hard for many families to understand, especially when there are also illegitimate ways people make money online. The real need is more awareness about how modern work and AI-driven productivity actually look,” one user said.
Another user suggested the concern may not be entirely misplaced, linking it to discipline and long-term stability.
“The parents could be reacting to something deeper — integrity and long-term resilience. Early success without discipline can create brittle individuals. But yes, I agree that hours are a poor proxy for value,” the user wrote.
A third comment framed the debate as part of a larger structural shift.
“We’re moving from a time-based definition of work to an output-based one. That transition is bound to feel uncomfortable,” the user said.
The discussion reflects a broader shift as AI-driven workflows redefine productivity and challenge long-held assumptions about effort, time, and value in the workplace.