Who owns YesMadam? After PR stunt fiasco, salon e-commerce firm denies firing or laying off 'stressed' staff

YesMadam dismissed allegations that it fired or laid off employees following a mental health survey. The Noida-based salon e-commerce startup said the social media posts were part of a planned effort to raise awareness about workplace stress.

"Were YesMadam employees really fired for being stressed? Absolutely not. They weren't fired; they were given a break to reset. They weren't let go; they were encouraged to release their stress. They weren't laid off; they were offered a chance to relax. They weren't sacked; they were urged to rest and recharge".

Who owns YesMadam?

The startup featured on Shark Tank India Season 3, getting investments from OYO's Ritesh Aggarwal, boAt's Aman Gupta and Lenskart's Peyush Bansal. YesMadam is run by CEO Mayank Arya, COO Aditya Arya and CMO Akanksha Vishnoi.

YesMadam said it apologises for any distress caused by recent posts on social media that claimed the company fired employees who are stressed. It claimed that the posts were a planned effort to emphasise on workplace stress. "And to those who shared angry comments or voiced strong opinions, we say Thank You,” it added.

The controversial email was posted on LinkedIn by Anushka Dutta, who identified herself as a UX copywriter at YesMadam. Her post caption read, "What's happening at YesMadam? First you conduct a random survey and then fire us overnight because we're feeling stressed?"

Following the controversy, YesMadam unveiled its 'Happy 2 Heal' policy to improve mental health of employees. Under the programme, the staff will receive head massages, spa session and what they termed as India's first De-Stress Leave Policy, which offers six paid leaves annually to recover from mental stress.