Magicpin, the Gurugram food delivery platform, came forward and began recruiting more than 100 employees of Noida-based home salon service firm YesMadam, laid off apparently after admitting stress at the workplace in the internal mental health survey. The employees were reportedly asked to leave the job due to an internal mental health survey after admitting to their bosses that they suffered from “work-related stress.”
Indian’s third-largest food delivery app invited the affected workers to apply for positions within any departments.
Magicpin‘s Initiative Shared on LinkedIn
Magicpin‘s creative director, Madhav Sharma, took to LinkedIn to share the initiative. Sharing a picture of two employees holding placards with powerful messages, he wrote, “This campaign was executed without any stress.”
One placard read, “No madam. Stressed employees can perform! Because they care!” The other talked about outreach from the companyand wrote, “Magicpin invites laid-off employees to join across departments,” with an email address of the direct HR contact: HR[dot]team[at]magicpin[dot]in.
The post was well-appreciated and a lot of people were hailing the gesture. Some comments went as far as saying, “Now that‘s how you make a statement and a difference,” and, “Taking notes? Yes Madam!”.
A Call for Change in Workplace Dynamics
While Magicpin‘s efforts were a silver lining, the backlash againstYesMadam‘s decision gave rise to much criticism about corporate attitudes toward mental health. Many individuals were appalled by the fact that employees were terminated for having acknowledged workplace stress.
A LinkedIn user commented with great aplomb
“It‘s unbelievable that honesty about workplace stress now gets one fired. Shame on you, YesMadam. Instead of confronting the causes—high work pressure and lack of support—you went out and fired those who dared to open their mouths.”
Open Applications for All
In his post, Sharma clarified that the opportunity was not limited to ex-employees of YesMadam. “Anyone interested can send their resumes to the email address provided,” he said, underlining inclusivity in Magicpin‘s recruitment drive.
Magicpin’s initiative is also a reminder that mental health should betaken seriously and the workplace environment needs to be conducive to creating a more supportive work environment.
