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Delhi woman calls out companies for monitoring employees ‘every minute’: ‘It hurts productivity’
A Delhi woman shared why constant office surveillance backfires.
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A Delhi woman has sparked a conversation online after sharing her experience of working in both highly monitored and flexible workplaces, arguing that excessive employee surveillance can hurt productivity instead of improving it. She said workplaces that focus on results rather than tracking every minute are more likely to build trust and encourage employees to put genuine effort into their jobs.
(Also read: Pune woman explains why she prefers hybrid work over permanent WFH: ‘You meet people, learn new things’)
‘It’s doing the opposite’
Taking to Instagram, Tanya Singhal shared a video comparing two contrasting work environments she has experienced.
"Every Indian company that monitors their employees every minute needs to hear this. It's not making them more productive, it's doing the opposite. I have worked in both the environments, one where everything was monitored: login time, log out time, every leave was questioned, where leaving five minutes early meant a half day deducted even when your work was done. And one where the only thing that mattered was whether the work got done."
Singhal questioned why employees would willingly go beyond their working hours when companies penalise them even for leaving a few minutes early after completing their tasks.
"Think about it simply: if you penalise me for leaving five minutes early even when my work was done, why would I want to give five minutes extra for when you need it? But when a company respects my time, respects my personal life, treats me as a person and not just as a resource, I will genuinely want to do a little extra sometimes. Not because I have to, but because I want to."
‘Give someone autonomy’
She further argued that excessive control can push employees towards appearing busy rather than actually being productive.
"That's the difference between an employee who is surviving their job and one who actually cares about it. And according to psychology, when people feel controlled, they don't respond with more effort; they respond with resistance. So they'll optimise for looking busy rather than for being productive."
Sharing her experience of a flexible workplace, Singhal said knowing that she could reclaim her time after completing her work motivated her to focus on finishing tasks efficiently rather than simply clocking hours.
"Give someone autonomy and they'll give you everything. Count their minutes and they'll give you exactly that: minutes. So toxic work culture don't just hurt employees, it hurts the business even more. You might be thinking that you're losing money by giving out flexibility, but you're actually losing money by not giving it."
The clip was shared with the caption: "I’ve been on both sides of this, and the difference in how I showed up: how much I cared, how much I gave was not even comparable."
Watch the clip here:
Internet reacts
The post has drawn reactions from users who agreed with her argument. One person wrote, “Trust works better than surveillance.” Another said, “This is so true.” A third commented, “Toxic work culture hurts everyone.” Another user summed up the debate by writing, “Stop counting minutes, value results.”
(Also read: Man questions Indian work culture after commuting to office in rain: ‘Some employers still live in Stone Age’)
HT.com has reached out to the user for her comments, and the copy will be updated once her response is received.
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)
