A Kolkata-based contract employee has shared a workplace dispute after being warned of possible termination for leaving the office without informing senior officials. The employee said they had finished their work for the day and did not understand why permission was needed before leaving.
According to screenshots shared by the employee, the department gave three choices after the incident: submit a formal apology, resign from the job, or face termination. The situation led the employee to question whether such rules are common in Indian workplaces.
The employee said they had been working there for more than 1.5 years. They explained that staff members in their department are expected to inform the department head before leaving, even after completing
their regular hours.
Employee Questions Daily Permission Rule
“In my department, there is a practice that seniors informs/reports to the department head before leaving. Even if someone is going to be 15-20 minutes late for work, they inform the office group,” they wrote.
The employee said the rule became difficult to understand when there was no unfinished work. They argued that staying late was not an issue when there was something that needed to be completed.
“My confusion is: if I’ve completed my working hours and have no pending work, why do I need to ask/inform the department head before leaving every day?” they said.
They added, “If I have work, I have no problem staying beyond 6 PM and completing it. If it gets late, I’ll ask whether the work can be continued the next day before leaving. But if there’s no work, I don’t understand the need for this daily permission.”
Employee Asks If Such Rules Are Normal
Looking for advice, the employee asked others whether workers in government and private companies are also expected to check with seniors before leaving after their scheduled hours.
“I accept that I should have followed the instruction, but I’m genuinely confused about this practice. Is this normal workplace culture, especially in a government company, and how would you handle it?”
The employee also shared screenshots of the notice and asked people online for their views on the situation.
Is this normal workplace culture or unnecessary micromanagement?
by
u/Xcalivr in
IndianWorkplace
Users Call The Workplace Rule ‘Toxic’
Several users said they found the company’s response unusual and supported the employee’s concerns.
“Weird, creepy and toxic,” a person wrote. Another shared, “I resigned from my first company when they asked me to write an apology email. I wrote a resignation email the same day.”
A third user said, “No, this is not normal in private companies. They don’t ask you to say sorry. That’s a very weird power trip. Usually they give you one or two warnings if you do something they don’t like; they just terminate. If you apologise, maybe they reconsider, but they’ll never ask you to apologise. That’s such primary school behaviour.”
Another person advised the employee, “You have two options: either you comply or find a new job. If I were you, I would find a new job, as I don’t like taking illogical and stupid orders.”
Disclaimer: This article is based on user-generated content. The claims made in the original post have not been independently verified by News18.
