When 9-5 meets the Gig Life: Bengaluru’s unconventional work culture!

In Bengaluru, where traffic congestion eats into daily routines and every minute matters, one Infosys employee is redefining productivity. Instead of spending his free time sitting idle, he has chosen to work as a bike taxi rider. His unique story came to light through a LinkedIn post by Chaarmika Nagalla, who shared her recent commuting experience.

While heading to work, Chaarmika booked a bike taxi to avoid the city’s infamous traffic. When the rider arrived, he greeted her with a corporate style “Am I audible?”, a phrase which caught her attention. It turned out that this was no ordinary driver; he was a full-time Infosys employee working in the contract management department. It was his first day as a bike taxi rider , not driven by financial pressures, but by a desire to make better use of his mornings and weekends rather than wasting time on social media.

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Chaarmika’s  post gained attention, sparking conversations about the changing face of Bengaluru’s gig economy. The trend she highlighted wasn’t an anomaly. Just a day earlier, on her return trip, she rode with another bike taxi driver on a premium motorcycle wearing top-tier riding gear. He was also a full-time employee working at a B2B event management company. The reason for his work was to simply avoid riding home alone and to have meaningful interactions with people.

These stories reflect a growing shift where many professionals are entering the gig economy not out of financial need but to find a sense of connection, purpose or escape from solitude. In the comments under the viral post, others shared similar experiences. One woman mentioned her partner once booked a ride, only to discover that the driver was a colleague working to combat loneliness. Another shared an encounter in Australia where a driver dropped her off before heading to play golf.