The tragic death of a 26-year-old EY India employee, allegedly due to work-related stress, has sparked a widespread conversation among Indian workers about toxic workplace environments. Employees have begun sharing stories of companies that glorify excessive overtime and foster harmful work cultures that demean and devalue staff.
Nayantara Menon Bagla, a Bengaluru-based chef and nutrition coach, spoke with ‘The Nod’ magazine about her experience working at a luxury hotel, which punished late arrivals by making employees stand with their arms raised for two hours and clean refrigerators with bare hands. Bagla, who did not name the hotel, revealed that the staff was subjected to 18 to 20-hour shifts and were denied time off, even for personal emergencies.
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“When I was being inducted into a luxury hotel, the programme director told us, ‘Welcome to hell,’” Bagla recalled to ‘The Nod’. The warning proved accurate, as employees faced a harsh work environment.
“There were work shifts of 18-20 hours, seniors taking advantage of young folks, and constant sexual innuendoes,” Bagla explained. “Sure, kitchens and restaurants are high-pressure environments but it can’t be to the point of covering up suicides or mass bullying. Mental health was not even a discussion.”
In addition to the extreme overtime, Bagla indicated that outdated gender norms were enforced, including being asked to lose weight and expectations for women to be “subservient in the kitchen.”
The treatment of latecomers was especially severe. “And if you arrived late, you had to stand outside with your hands up for two hours and clean every refrigerator in the hotel with bare hands,” she said.
Following the death of Anna Sebastian, a former Ernst & Young employee, other Indian professionals have shared their experiences, with some revealing that 18-hour shifts were also commonplace at the consulting firm.