Nayantara Menon Bagla, a 32-year-old chef and nutrition coach, had bagged a plush job in Bengaluru at one of the city’s most expensive hotels. What she did not know then was that this marked the beginning of what she called “hell” living for herself and, sadly, her colleagues. Here is what changed overnight at the hands of the programme director, who first met her with an ominous four-word welcome: “Welcome to hell.”.
Speaking with The Nod magazine, Bagla detailed the treatment that latecomers received. Late employees were made to stand with hands up for two hours and then clean fridges without using gloves.
Bagla claimed she was not given any time off at the hotel in respect of personal crises. She added, “Whether we were going through a breakup or someone in our family had died, we had to put on our makeup, smile, and greet the guests.”
She narrated experiences such as 18-20 hour shifts, seniors exploiting juniors and sexual innuendos rampant in remarks that actually spoke to “suicides” and “mass bullying.” “Mental health wasn’t even a discussion,” added Bagla.
The practices at the hotel, she said, were so regressive that female staff were made to stick to vintage gender roles and body shaming. “I was told to lose weight and that women should be subservient in the kitchen,” she recalled, noting she was even denied time off during her mother’s cancer diagnosis because it was “season time.”
And then concludes the story with “those punishments set by the administration, like having to stand outside with your hands up for two hours and clean every refrigerator in the hotel with your bare hands.”