In an unfortunate incident a Bajaj Finserv employee in UP’s Jhansi committed suicide and left behind a 5-page suicide note citing extreme work pressure as the reason behind the extreme step. The case came in the wake of Anna Sebastian’s death that created a stir across the nation, ragging a debate between toxic work culture and a less appreciated culture of ‘Work Life Balance’.
Toxic work culture: Are dream jobs turning fatal for aspiring Indians?
Finding a job with a competent salary is a dream for every young Indian and their families in India. While some get it with effort, others struggle to get one. However, it may seem like a cake walk but it’s not! Its never easy to work in an organisation, especially when the workload is high. The recent death of Anna Sebastian, who worked in a private firm named EY, kickstarted a debate on the issue of work environments, which are the next reality after landing a dream job.
Anna Sebastian Perayil died after she collapsed at home. Later, in a letter, Anna’s mother stated that the cause of her death was extreme work pressure that took a toll on her physical and mental health. Her letter went viral on social media, after which the Labour Ministry took cognisance of the matter.
However, Anna’s case is not the only incident where an employee succumbed to extreme work conditions; it is just that after her tragic demise, the issue was seen on a broader scale, and a string of such incidents came to the forefront.
After Anna’s death, an HDFC Bank employee, Sadaf Fatima, collapsed during office hours on September 24. Later, peers alleged that she also died of work pressure. As stated above, just yesterday, an employee working at Bajaj Finserv committed suicide in Jhansi, alleging extensive workload in a suicide note.
These incidents highlight that everything is not hunky dory once you land a job, rather what is more important is ‘Work Life Balance’. To scramble for the cause of such incidents, it must be noted that any organisation is basically driven by a need to generate money. For this, it needs a workforce, which obviously needs to be paid. More often than not, organisations try to reduce working costs by reducing the workforce, which ultimately increases the workload on the employees. Although the workload can never lead a person to such extreme measures, it is the sheer ignorance of the organisations under which they pressurise employees to get the extra work done, despite knowing that they are at fault.
And this becomes the habit of organisations. By habit of organisation, it means that the ones who join the organisation also get transformed according to the work environment. This is often referred to in the corporate world as the toxic culture of the organisation.
But this does not mean that private organisations are solely at fault. As said earlier, every organisation has a need to generate revenue. The role of unemployment is also a major factor behind these incidents, which cannot be ignored. As most unacquainted would ask, why not leave such a job?
Getting a job may have become an easy task, but getting a competitive job easily is still a difficult task. This also leads organisations to unilaterally impose work conditions. Those working in the corporate world could hardly say that they have a say when it comes to their rights at work.
Simply put, there are lots of employees but not the other way around! In fact, this is far more consequential in such cases as compared to the behaviour of the organisation. Infosys founder Narayan Murthy had said that working individuals should invest 70 hours per week in their work, a statement widely criticised by many. Although his statement shows how an employer’s mind works, he can only be accused of being insensitive as he heads an organisation that looks primarily towards revenue generation. The significant question is, what options do the employees have?
The answer to the “why” of Anna-like incidents lies in finding the answer to this very question. So, although legislation can be made and strictly implemented to prevent such incidents, there is also a need to look at the issue through its core. There is a need to generate employment and, most importantly, an environment where competency is paid for so that the urge to hire a worthy employee should pull the towering organisation equally to the table while negotiating employment terms and conditions.