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IIIT Delhi grad quits ₹17 LPA banking job due to toxic culture and work pressure: '9 to 5 became 9 to 7'
Chirag Madaan shared his experience of leaving a ₹17 LPA role, saying the decision was driven by “culture and mis-sell”.
A 24-year-old graduate from IIIT Delhi has sparked an online discussion on workplace culture after revealing he quit a high-paying banking job due to extreme working hours, aggressive sales targets, and pressure to mis-sell products.
Taking to Instagram, Chirag Madaan shared his experience of leaving a ₹17 LPA role, saying the decision was driven by “culture and mis-sell”. “I am 24 and I left my 17 LPA banking job. Left it because of two reasons - culture and mis-sell,” he said, adding that he had joined the role expecting a stable 9-to-5 corporate routine.
However, he claimed the reality was far more demanding. He said that the job gradually extended from a 9-5 schedule to 9-7, while the workweek stretched from 5 to 6 days. “We didn’t have time to eat. We were expected to have our lunch in 15 minutes and start our work again,” he said. He also highlighted strict leave policies, claiming that even sick leave required detailed justification.
Madaan further pointed to intense performance pressure, particularly around sales targets. He alleged that employees were expected to close deals worth up to ₹10 crore every month, and failure to meet targets often led to harassment from seniors. “I mean, it was so toxic that if a person was not able to bring that amount, branch managers used to harass him. It became so toxic for a person that he is zeroing every month, and he has to start again to reach that amount, that too when the market is so competitive, and the pricing for our bank was so high as well,” he said.
Another major concern he raised was the issue of mis-selling. Recalling an incident, he said a client once showed him an investment portfolio containing products that delivered returns lower than fixed deposits. The products, he claimed, had been recommended by a previous bank manager. “Even after so much financial illiteracy in the market, bankers are so pressurised that we are forced to mis-sell,” he said, calling it a key reason behind his decision to quit.
He also criticised the push to sell expensive trading platforms despite the availability of lower-cost alternatives like Zerodha and Groww. “I can't even convince myself that these apps are good. Why should I recommend them to customers? I mean, Zerodha and Groww are performing really, really good. So why would a customer prefer a bank trading app at a 10,000 rupees a year cost? Why? I mean, I wouldn’t recommend that to my father as well,” he said.
HT.com has reached out to Chirag Madaan. The article will be updated once a response is received.
Social media reactions
Madaan’s post has since resonated widely, prompting others to share similar experiences in the banking sector.
“I totally agree i also left my Axis Bank job at 23 and now I'm working with SBI card on a backend role which also has a toxic environment but at least I don't have to miss-sell,” one user wrote.
“I have been work for 5 month in axis bank last 2 month wrost experiance as an assistant manager,” commented another.
“I feel ya bro. Just left my banking job for literally the same reasons...these places really start making you doubt your calibre no matter what kind of competition you have faced to get there. There is no end to their demand for sales. Banks would do anything to push a product down a client’s throat,” wrote a third user.
“I totally relate to it i also quit my job and few months ago and the misselling done by the employees aree too much they don't even think about the Customers earnings that they work so hard to get it and even Customers are not fully aware about what he had purchased and what is going with his investment today the banking is going worst day by day and the most peak month is there march ending where the misselling is on the peak,” shared another.
