YOUR COMPANY IS RATED 3.6 BECAUSE A FEW EX-EMPLOYEES GOT EMOTIONAL.
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Benefita Team
about 18 hours ago
Calling Out: When Online Reviews Miss the Mark
I recently came across a Glassdoor review from a junior analyst at a leading private bank, describing how his manager allegedly forced the team to stay back until 1 am every day for over a month ahead of quarter close, “shouting at anyone who left before midnight.” The complaint ends with, “HR does nothing—they protect management.” Looking deeper, here’s what’s missed: that period was statutory audit season, where extended hours are sometimes unavoidable for compliance. HR verified no official complaints were ever filed and, in fact, the bank mandated cab reimbursements and meal allowances documented for late shifts. The reviewer was, as records suggest, also on a performance improvement plan due to delivery delays.Similarly, on AmbitionBox, a reviewer from a mid-sized pharma firm attacked HR for “arbitrarily changing leave policies and link attendance to biometric fingerprints, causing so much stress.” But policy emails show this shift was driven by regulatory need after an inspection—management communicated updates a month in advance and even ran Q&A sessions. No mass attrition or grievances were logged during the rollout.In both cases, it’s clear the core issue is frustration triggered by personal discomfort with process, not some deep organizational bias or misdeed. These stories, while valid from an emotion standpoint, are often not the whole truth. Organizational accountability matters, but every negative review isn’t proof of systemic failure—sometimes, it’s just a mismatch in expectations and reality
Balaji (Vivid Viper), HR Head, Top 5 Indian IT Company
about 18 hours ago
EAP Helpline Rang for 40 Minutes—But No One Picked Up
I’ve done twenty-five years in HR, but nothing prepares you for a 3 am call from a project lead: “Sir, our fresher tried to jump from hostel terrace. We dialed your Employee Assistance hotline, but full 40 minutes no one picked up!” That night, my blood ran cold—so much for all those posters and fancy Zoom launches of EAP “wellness partners.” We ended up rushing the boy to hospital ourselves and looping in his family before the EAP even texted back.Next week, the vendor sent the usual “systems outage, sorry for inconvenience” mail. I lost it. Escalated to CEO, called the EAP director on a Sunday, made him listen to our team’s panic calls. He admitted: they were short-staffed, most calls at night get routed to Bangalore landline with one junior trainee.We scrapped the vendor, put our own mental-health champions on rotation, and sent a public mail to all managers: “If your team is in crisis, call HR first, not EAP!” Still, I keep thinking—how many more juniors suffered silence before someone finally shouted loud enough? Sometimes, real help means calling out the vendor, not just paying for nice brochures
Ashok (Kind Jaguar), Senior HR Executive, Large Chennai Manufacturing Company
about 18 hours ago
Wellness Vendor Turned Diwali into a Hospital Trip
Ayyo, this time wellness vendor gave us big shocking, boss. They organised so-called “stress buster” massage camp for Diwali in our company canteen. Vendor sent two fellows looking like gym bodybuilders, but half the team got rashes next day, one manager even fainted after smelling that ayurvedic oil. We had HR WhatsApp full of panic emojis, production head’s wife telling on phone this vendor do black magic. On top, vendor’s medical certificate had “Signed by Dr. Ramesh”, but Ramesh is their gym trainer only! Full HR got summoned by director. Vendor tried giving sweet box and saying “sir, small allergy only.” Then we checked, vendor never had any legal medical tie-up, just WhatsApp deals with admin staff. Company sacked the vendor, held big public apology, and new rule came: no wellness, no food, not even hair-cut on site unless 200% verified. Now, even if juicewala enters our campus HR team checks his Aadhaar! All head aches, but at least no more black magic wellness.
Shalini (Calm Tiger), CHRO, Major IT Services Firm
about 18 hours ago
When a MeToo Complaint Brought Down the Wrong Man—And Exposed Our HR’s Blind Spots
A senior project manager accused our CTO of harassment based on WhatsApp chats and late-night calls, sparking a media circus and an immediate “step aside.” But as the POSH inquiry dug in, it surfaced plenty: the chats were selectively edited, the complainant had a pending promotion denial, and several team leads reported she’d made similar threats in the past. Our own HR lead, fearing Twitter outrage, recommended immediate dismissal without hearing both sides. In the end, the board reinstated the CTO, the investigator was replaced, and all POSH decisions now require evidence review by an outside panel. Our brand? Stuck explaining its own HR team’s panic and the real danger: that hasty outrage can ruin the innocent as easily as the guilty
Shreya (Polite Fox), Vice President, HR, Large Private Bank
about 18 hours ago
POSH or Power Play? The Day Our ‘Star’ VP Filed a MeToo Complaint Against the CEO – and What No One Saw Coming
When the #MeToo wave finally touched Indian banking, no one expected it would implicate our own CEO. It was our VP of Treasury, a known trailblazer and a fierce negotiator, who filed a sexual harassment complaint citing WhatsApp chats and ‘undue meetings’ after work hours. The repercussions were immediate – the board called an emergency meeting, activist groups picketed our HQ, and media vans waited outside the gate.But as the internal POSH committee dug deeper, doubts emerged. The ‘chats’ lacked context, and multiple women in the same department produced statements defending the CEO. Some admitted privately that the VP was “angling for a C-suite move” or retaliating for a blocked international posting. Meanwhile, the CEO voluntarily stepped aside and handed over his devices for forensic review – a move that shocked the staff.Things turned even nastier when leaked emails, showing the VP’s attempt to lobby for the CEO’s absence as “her opportunity”, made it to the press. Now the same activist groups who had demanded the CEO’s firing turned on the VP, accusing her of weaponising #MeToo. Our POSH committee was split: a public trial would damage both careers, but a quiet “both sides are wrong” settlement risked losing all trust.In the end, the board released a rare public summary: “Our investigation found no proof of harassment, but highlighted deep flaws in power dynamics, grievance redressal, and gender trust within our ranks. Both individuals have been relieved from their posts pending further review and external mediation.”The aftershocks still affect us: we’ve overhauled our entire POSH process, instituted independent third-party mediators, and allowed for anonymous yet traceable whistleblowing. But what our branch employees remember is the day both the accuser and accused lost everything – and how gray Indian corporate power can be, no matter the gender.
HR Head, VC firm
12 days ago
Rethinking 'Unlimited' Leave When We Saw the Burnout Data"
We introduced an 'unlimited' leave policy, but our quarterly wellness surveys showed burnout was actually increasing. Employees felt guilty taking time off without a set number of days. We switched to a mandatory 20-day leave policy, plus a company-wide week off in December. Productivity and employee satisfaction have both gone up."