Indian managers generally have a reputation of being strict and not very flexible, especially when it comes to granting leaves. Many employees find it hard to take time off, even for personal reasons, as managers may expect them to prioritize work above everything else, even when there is an emergency. There is a visible lack of empathy where seniors expect junior employees to put in long hours of work, sacrificing their own personal needs.
For example, a man working as a Project Manager at a small service-based company in the UK for 11 months spoke about how his Indian manager did not grant him the opportunity for flexible work hours when his mother was sick. On top of that, he was unnecessarily called in for a performance review.
“Things took a sudden turn when my mother was hospitalized. I requested flexible working hours, not even a full week off, to support her. Today, my manager called me for a ‘performance review’ and started digging up old, irrelevant issues,” he wrote on Reddit, under the subreddit r/IndianWorkplace.
The company has 35 employees and is run by an Indian couple in the UK. The Project Manager thought that it was a clear case of a cost-cutting attempt.
“It’s clear that this is a classic case of a company trying to cut costs by removing its highest-paid employee, (it’s a small company run by Indian couple in UK, with an employee strength of 35 people) especially when a tight deadline looms. Interestingly this deadline came up only 2-3 weeks before. I’m not surprised by this behavior, given the ‘Awesome’ reputation of Indian managers,” he added.
Have a look at the full post here:
Typical Indian Management Story- Nothing Surprising
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People online empathized with him and showered immense support. Some even shared going through similar experiences in the past and expressed how painful such instances are. Have a look:
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Have you ever had a difficult boss?