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'Work weekends or stay late daily': Indian manager's shocking ultimatum to employees
A Reddit user claimed that an Indian manager asked an employee to work on weekends or increase their work hours for the coming week.
A post about an Indian manager allegedly asking an employee to report to work on weekends for 8-hour shifts or add two days extra to their work hours for the coming week has sparked conversations around toxic workplaces among Reddit users. An individual posted a screenshot of a WhatsApp chat, claiming it’s from the manager of one of their friends.
“This screenshot is from my friend’s whatsapp group - the last msg is from her manager apparently having the audacity to normalise working on weekends,” the Reddit user wrote.
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In the screenshot, a part of a partially visible message reads, “I have commitments and plans so unable to work on Saturdays and Sundays if possible I will try to complete.” It is followed by messages from other employees in the group chat who say they won’t be able to work on Saturday and Sunday.
In response, the manager slams one of the employees and says that the team's weekend unavailability will be addressed in the office the following week.
“This is not going to work, we need to plan something else, I will address the complete team on Monday, either we have to report to office on Saturday and Sundays for complete 8 hours or need to extend the shift on a daily basis for 2 hours for next three weeks...Guys kindly prepare your mindset and come to work on Monday,” the message reads.
The post on Reddit was published by an unverified user. HT.com has not independently verified the claims.
What did social media say?
An individual suggested, “They are literally stealing his labour. Refuse tactfully. If that doesn’t work, refuse directly. Of course, he needs a new job soon.” Another added, “They do it to reach you outside of work timings— they have no shame about it. Unless it’s a genuine emergency, I simply ignore their calls/messages. I even had to block a colleague.”
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A third shared, “Teams is documented. When they make requests like this, they don’t want evidence. If someone goes to court, they can say it was a rogue manager. But on Teams, every message is logged; they can’t do that.”
A fourth wrote, “Absolutely do not work a second on the weekend unless it’s your own fault for not being able to in the week. Very slippery slope. Pretty sure none of us gets paid overtime for that.”
Forced to work 20 unpaid hours:
In a separate incident, a software developer claimed on Reddit about being pressured into working for 20 hours every week, on top of the standard working hours. The employee claimed that the overtime was unpaid.
"That’s 3 hours every weekday after work and my weekends completely gone,” the employee wrote on Reddit, adding, “It’s unpaid, non-negotiable, and they’ve made it clear that if I want to grow here, I have to do this.”
