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The man criticised what he described as the glorification of burnout, the public humiliation of employees, and the disregard for personal boundaries.
‘Screaming At People’: Mumbai Man Calls Out ‘Normalised’ Toxic Habits In Indian Workplaces
A Mumbai-based professional has sparked a wider discussion on workplace culture in India after highlighting three behaviours he believes have been normalised for far too long in offices across the country. His comments struck a chord with many corporate employees, who said they had experienced similar issues in their own workplaces.
Vijay Chandola, an IIM alumnus and career coach, criticised what he described as the glorification of burnout, the public humiliation of employees, and the disregard for personal boundaries. “Three toxic things that are normalised in Indian workplaces but should never be,” he said in his Instagram post, before listing the behaviours.
“Wearing That Burnout Like A Badge Of Honour”
The first, he said, is employees and managers wearing extreme overwork as a badge of honour. “First, bragging about staying up till 4 a.m, 5 a.m to deliver something critical and wearing that burnout like a badge of honour,” he mentioned.
“Screaming At People”
The next issue he raised was the practice of publicly criticising employees. He explained, “Second, screaming at people, really telling them in front of others, making constant comparisons and expecting them to somehow improve their performance by doing that.”
“Calling People Incessantly”
The third behaviour, in his opinion, is the tendency of some workplaces to ignore personal boundaries. He continued, “Third, calling people incessantly when they are on leave, sick, in hospital, grieving or dealing with a personal emergency. No regard for personal boundaries as if the company owns them.”
“None of this is okay. None of this should be okay. And if you are being told to grow up or develop a thick skin, remember, they are the problem, not you,” he added.
In the caption of the post, Chandola mentioned, “Some workplace behaviours have been normalised for so long that many people don’t even question them anymore. But shouting at employees, glorifying burnout, and ignoring personal boundaries aren’t signs of high performance, they’re signs of poor workplace culture. We can do better, and we should expect better.”
Working Professionals Share Their Experiences
The post quickly garnered attention, with many users sharing their own experiences of toxic work environments.
“I went through all this. I was the guy who made critical deliveries through weekends, late nights, etc. When appraisal time came, I was too ‘valuable’ to be promoted, but I was compensated well,” said one person.
Someone else shared, “In my last organisation, my manager asked me to stand in front of the door and stop people who are logging out without completing the targets.”
“Yep. I basically gave it back and got fired for it,” another person mentioned.
An individual said, “Working late at night is common in big4 and they even wear it as a badge of pride.”
“All indian managers do this without being apologetic,” someone else remarked.
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