YesMadam, a salon home service start-up, kicked up a row on the Internet after it reportedly fired several employees who confessed to having experienced stress due to professional reasons in an internal survey. According to a report, as many as 100 people who admitted to being stressed lost their jobs at the start-up.
The incident came to light after a screenshot of an email from the Noida-based start-up company’s Human Resources Department making the announcement to lay off people who opened up about being stressed due to the workload was leaked on social media.
"Recently, we conducted a survey to understand your feelings about stress at work. Many of you shared your concerns, which we deeply value and respect. As a company committed to fostering a healthy and supportive work environment, we have carefully considered the feedback. To ensure that no one remains stressed at work, we have made the difficult decision to part ways with employees who indicated significant stress. This decision is effective immediately, and impacted employees will receive further details separately. Thank you for your contributions," the leaked letter shared on LinkedIn read. The mail was sent by the company's HR Manager Ashu Arora Jha, the screenshot showed.
Among the people who called out YesMadam over the leaked internal communication was Shitiz Dogra, Associate Director of Digital Marketing at IndiGo. "Can an organization fire you for being stressed? Looks like it just happened at a startup - YesMadam," Dogra wrote on LinkedIn while re-sharing the said email.
However, THE WEEK couldn't independently verify the authenticity of the letter.
The startup was heavily criticised by netizens for taking workplace stress so lightly and making a layoff announcement over it. "I’m shocked, but not surprised. Workers asked for help. Instead, they got the door. This isn't just one company’s issue it's a wake-up call," one user wrote.
"YesMadam took an in-office stress survey and fired the ones who were in stress. Lesson learnt: Never be too honest with your HR," another jotted.
"When you cannot solve the problem, end the people who complain about it," a third posted.
"Imagine you thinking one day 'Wow HR is so concerned about my stress levels. They sent a survey to help me out.' Next moment, you are fired for being highly stressed. Employees should sue the company," another said.
"Next we will see Narayana Murthi investing in YesMadam," another user said.