Recently, a young Chartered Accountant working with a well-known MNC passed away due to work pressure. Almost two months after, her mother wrote an ‘open letter’ to the chairman of the MNC, explaining the hardships her daughter faced before passing away, and that no one from the organization didn’t even attend her funeral. Long story short, the young CA’s work life was as atrocious as it would get, because atrocious is the least applicable word for the corporate cruelty that took her life. In this regard, let’s analyse what happened with her, the toxic side of corporate work culture in India and possible solutions (if only), with my own horrific experience from one of my previous employers.
The Young CA’s Tragedy
She was 26, passed her CA Final November 2023 attempt, which means the results were declared earlier this year and she got into this job at the particular MNC a few months before passing away. Now we have two accounts of this story, one from her colleagues and the other, as written by her mother in the viral ‘open letter’. Her mother explains that she would regularly work for 12-16 hours a day, skipping meals and disturbing the sleep schedule. She would sometimes come home so tired that she used to collapse in bed and sleep, without even changing her office attire or having a sip of water. As she was living away from her hometown, her parents could only see the living hell her life had become from afar. Tragedy is a small word because she passed away days after her convocation. With hardwork and perseverance, she earned the CA degree and made her parents proud, only to let the employer take a toll on her life? Her ECG reports came normal when, on the convocation day itself, she had chest pain after which they consulted the doctor. The doctor said she was sleep deprived, and very much stressed, because of which she was having chest pain. No one from the organization attended her funeral, making it even worse. Her colleagues revealed that her manager and senior manager would often reschedule meetings at after office hours. It is also mentioned that the manager used to watch cricket during work hours and thus would reschedule the meetings after the office. Some ex-employees from the organization faced similar experience, including having calls at 3 AM and working from hospitals where they are literally admitted and were under treatment. It need not be proven that work pressure took her life because pretty much everybody knows this. The audacity of the MNC’s chairman to state otherwise is laughable. I wish the person gets the test of the culture of his organization, he’d be humbled at the very least.
Corporate Culture in India
Without a second thought, India’s corporate culture is as toxic as it can get, especially when it comes to consultancy firms, like the one in which the deceased worked. We have a culture where personal life is not respected. A few oversmart people work beyond working hours to make it a norm, calling those leaving on time “half day”. The managers are pressurized by the partners/directors to get the work done in as much lesser resource as they can. They do so to be in the good books of the higher authorities. So, at the cost of subordinates’ personal lives, their time beyond working hours, and even at times, at the cost of their health and well-being, these managers churn out the output. This is the core issue upon which all issues are based. Particularly speaking, it is because of more output in lesser manpower, the employees are made to work, by hook or crook, beyond working hours. Regardless of what they say, these companies reward peanuts in exchange of the slog of their employees.
Now the issues are with the way employees are treated in all these things. They are never heard of the hardships they face. They’re not allowed leaves even out of their leave balance. They’re asked to work from home after office, work from hospital, vacation and literally everywhere they go. They’re put down and harassed for calling out any hardship. In order to be in good books and not to affect the personal career growth, most employees remain silent on this. I am not even mentioning the politics amongst employees because it’s still least of the concerns when work pressure is taking lives.
Bullying, harassment (including sexual harassment), targeted personal attacks are also amongst the concerns. Asking, unduly influencing or forcing female subordinates for sexual favours, including personal favours is the area where the POSH looks after. The POSH doesn’t really work well with the real incidences where almost everyone has a stake involved. Apart from that, misuse of POSH by female superiors is also a concern.
Leaving a few respectable exceptions, managers do not resolve the conflicts amongst employees, nor do they address their issues. Instead, they use such things to their advantage.
The Serious Impacts of Toxic Work Culture
People join such organization in their 20s. They get married. Most of them don’t get time with their partners, the crucial first few years of marriage are wasted. In their personal space, people must get close with their life partner and get on happy terms so that their professional space is sorted out. Today, most people struggle with both their spaces because they’re mixed up. I’ll put it in even straight manner. When it’s the time of the person to see his/her spouse, to caress, cuddle, kiss and being with each other forgetting everything, a ‘Teams’ call rings up out of nowhere. These things pile up to cause a distance in them, leading to divorces, cheatings and complete destruction of personal lives. This is regardless of gender as we have female workforce facing similar, or even worse situations. Apart from spoiled relations with spouses, we see people are not getting time with their parents and siblings as well. Lack of social life and personal life amplifies depression.
The health hazards are as much serious. Sitting for long hours, irregular diet and stress eating, sleeping less than required is something that took her life and is taking toll on a million other lives as well. They may not suddenly die but their organs are dying. Chronic back pain, spoiled gut health and sleep deprival ultimately lead to high blood pressure, diabetes and heart diseases. Combined with this comes the culture of drinking and smoking which is often spread out of peer pressure.
Amongst the lesser talked impacts is the debauchery that is going around in the corporate world. People spend more time in office than at homes and thus, situations ultimately lead co-workers to get personal with each other, often cheating on their spouses and more so, for deriving the benefits. Family is the first unit of society, they say. Such debauchery is killing the family unit, causing a larger threat to the well being of society.
Possible Solutions
Indian organizations have zero national interest when it comes to negotiating with the foreign clients. We have the world’s largest and for sure the most dedicated workforce. No shame in accepting that we’re cheaper because that’s why they choose us in the first place. But can’t Indian companies simply negotiate that the workforce will not work on Indian public holidays? Can’t they say, in a syndicate, that pay us more so that we can pay our employees more? Can’t they simply reject the clients who ask for unnecessary demands? We are here, working in their timezones, spoiling our health out of which the Indian companies are reaping benefits, can’t our beloved employers stand for their own employees for basic human rights? If they don’t, why is the Government simply not paying heed to these concerns?
While it should not ideally, strictly be 9-5 always. Not expected because industry and markets are volatile. There can be a sudden surge in work pressure at times and at times there can be lesser work than regular and it is accepted. That’s how pretty much everything goes. It is perfectly fine if employees work after office hours when they work with passion. It is acceptable only to a limit. The corporate culture is going against the basic human rights of sleeping, eating regularly, giving quality time to family and themselves and most importantly, living healthy. If a young woman’s tragic death can’t wake our systems up, I don’t know what will. India is witnessing a gradual shift in power where most probably the current government may not return in the next elections. If they want to retain the power, I urge them to solve this issue foremost and we’ll vote in high numbers for them. The offer is open for the opposition as well. Promise us the well-being of corporate employees, with a dedicated action plan and we’ll take you to power in absolute majority.
My Personal Experience
Nowhere mentioned on any of my profiles, one of my ex-employments was similar to what the deceased faced. I used to be a trainee at this consultancy firm and have suffered horrendous atrocities. From not getting paid for two-three months in a row to getting bullied and secluded at workplace, from getting the unnecessary blame to getting trolled at workplace even by the seniormost authorities, I witnessed everything. While my physical health was not affected, it was the mental health and my career graph that faced the impacts of these atrocities. Worst part was, they did not even give me an experience certificate even after expressly stating it during the interview. Not everything was bad, the exposure I had there was top-class. Not everyone was bad as well, I wish I could name the good people. But yes, I’d often feel bad for living when I was working there. I left the organization in merely 9 months. Worst was yet to unfold.
The manager, I don’t know where I had disappointed him, but kept an eye on all my social media handles after I left the organization. I used to be a loud mouth activist on Twitter and if he really cared about my well-being, he’d have personally told me not to get politically expressive on Twitter because that was his explanation when I called him out for the phishing and identity theft he did on Twitter. He kept an eye on me so much that he knew I had two more handles for business purpose and he trolled me every once in a while on each of the accounts. The only thing I did, was that I criticised the organization and the work culture without naming the organization or the people from that organization. After this chapter, I deleted all my Twitter handles just to see myself relieved from this monster of a person. He caused more damage after I left the organization, revealing that he was the mastermind behind every single thing I faced there, contrary to what I used to think about him. I wish him very good luck and a positive soul, because eventually his insecurities will take him to a negative state if not already, and I don’t really wish bad for that person. He has a family too and I know deep down he’s doing everything for the love of his family. Mr. Manager, if you’re reading this, which I know you are, please get well soon. No hard feelings, even after you made me, a strict anti-alcohol person, lift beer bottles at the off-site tour, because I still remember the good deeds you did for me as well.
Currently, I’m happy to be in an organization when I’m heard, valued and respected. I wish every organization becomes similar.
Warm Regards,
Dnyanesh Make “The DPM”
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