"School-Like Mentality": Employee Slams Indian Company's Rigid Time Policy

A Reddit user has slammed the "school-like mentality" of Indian companies after receiving a message from his employer enforcing a strict 9:30 am reporting time. In the post, the anonymous user shared a screenshot of the message he received from his employer. It informed employees that those reporting to the office later than 9:30 am would automatically get marked for a half-day leave, unless they had informed their manager in advance that they would be late. The Redditor blasted the company for trying to micromanage their employees and obsessing over reporting time instead of productivity. 

"Companies Still Schooling Adults: Reporting at 9:30AM Sharp or Face the Wrath (Half-Day Marked!) - Is This Still Justified?" the Redditor titled the post. 

"This is a reminder that the official reporting time for all employees is no later than 9:30 AM. If you anticipate being late due to any valid reason, you are expected to inform your respective manager in advance or notify me directly. Please note that arrivals after 9:30 AM without prior intimation will be marked as a half-day as per company policy," the message from the company read. 

Take a look below: 

Companies Still Schooling Adults: Reporting at 9:30AM Sharp or Face the Wrath (Half-Day Marked!) – Is This Still Justified?
byu/ducky024 inIndianWorkplace

In the post, the user questioned the company's policy. He also pointed out that if the employee forgets to log attendance or if their leave is not approved, money gets deducted from their salary. 

"Seriously, are we in school or are we adults? Emergencies, traffic jams, and life happen. Why do so many companies in India still cling to this old-fashioned mentality of 'report on time or face punishment'?" he wondered. He also asked why working hours have become more important than the actual work an employee does, as he blasted the "school-like mentality of Indian companies".

"Isn't it time employers trust us to manage our own time? Does anybody else feel these policies end up killing productivity and morale?" the user asked.

Internet users were quick to react to the post. While some shared similar experiences, others pointed out how often the employers penalise workers for coming late, but would never provide any incentive for extra work they were forced to put in on occasion. 

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"Indian schooling is preparation for this culture, it was pretty rampant earlier though with changing times this needs to change too. Same policies exist within government offices too but is seldom enforced," one user wrote. 

"These companies are the main reason in Mumbai where high number of deaths in crowded local train. Everyday around 5-7 people fall and killed from local train. People don't have any option to go late as that would be 1 day salary cut or late mark," commented another.

"This system feels like it's designed to produce obedient servants, not doers or thinkers. Honestly, with this mindset, how are we supposed to compete with China - let alone the USA? We're still struggling to build basic mobile phones, forget about advanced manufacturing. At this rate, India risks remaining just a service-based economy," said a third user.