- An employee was warned for leaving work without informing seniors or the department head
- The department gave options: apologize, resign, or face termination for the incident
- The employee questioned the need to seek daily permission after completing work hours
A Kolkata-based employee working on contract was issued a formal warning after they left the office for the day without informing the seniors or department head. In the screenshots shared by the employee, the department offered them three options to sort the issue: issue a formal apology, resign, or face termination. The incident has since triggered a fierce debate about the prevalent toxic work culture in Indian companies.
The employee explained that they had been working at the place for just over 1.5 years, where they had to follow the practice of informing the department head before leaving.
"In my department, there is a practice that seniors informs/reports to the department head before leaving. Even if someone is going to be 15-20 minutes late for work, they inform the office group," they wrote.
After receiving the strongly worded notice, the employee said they were confused as to what they did wrong, especially when the work had been completed for the day.
"My confusion is: if I've completed my working hours and have no pending work, why do I need to ask/inform the department head before leaving every day?" they said.
"If I have work, I have no problem staying beyond 6 PM and completing it. If it gets late, I'll ask whether the work can be continued the next day before leaving. But if there's no work, I don't understand the need for this daily permission."
The employee sought help from the internet, asking whether it was the norm in both government and private companies where employees had to consult seniors before punching out.
"I accept that I should have followed the instruction, but I'm genuinely confused about this practice. Is this normal workplace culture, especially in a government company, and how would you handle it?"
Check The Post Here:
Is this normal workplace culture or unnecessary micromanagement?
by u/Xcalivr in IndianWorkplace
'Toxic'
As the post gained traction, social media users empathised with the employee, adding that it was a weird and toxic move by the company.
'Weird, creepy and toxic," said one user, while another added: "I resigned from my first company when they asked me to write an apology email. I wrote a resignation email the same day."
A third commented: "No, this is not normal in private companies. They don't ask you to say sorry. That's a very weird power trip. Usually they give you one or two warnings if you do something they don't like; they just terminate. If you apologise, maybe they reconsider, but they'll never ask you to apologise. That's such primary school behaviour."
A fourth said: "You have two options: either you comply or find a new job. If I were you, I would find a new job, as I don't like taking illogical and stupid orders."
