Indian companies have been laying off employees in large numbers over the last few quarters, but they seem to be getting increasingly creative in finding out which employees to let go.
Yes Madam, a salon-at-home startup, has allegedly fired employees who said that they were stressed in a survey the company had ostensibly conducted to determine the stress level among employees. Employees who responded to the survey and said that they were stressed were let go by the company. A mail from Ashu Arora Jha, the HR Manager of the company has been going viral in which the company says it’s firing all employees who reported to being stressed. Yes Madam had appeared on the third season of Shark Tank and received funding from four sharks.
“Update on Stress Survey,” the email was titled. “Recently, we conducted a survey to understand your feelings about stress at work. Many of you shared your concerns, which we deeply value and respect,” the email began.
“As a company committed to fostering a healthy and supportive work environment, we have carefully considered the feedback. To ensure that no one remains stressed at work, we have made the difficult decision to part ways with employees who indicated significant stress,” the mail added.
“This decision is effective immediately, and impacted employees will receive further details separately. Thank you for your contributions,” the mail concluded.
Yes Madam was founded in 2016 by Mayank Arya, Aditya Arya, and Akanksha Vishnoi. The company specializes in providing home salon services, and operates in cities including Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad and Bengaluru and has more than 400 employees. At Shark Tank, Yes Madam had raised Rs. 1.5 crore from Aman Gupta, Vineeta Singh, Peeyush Bansal and Ritesh Agarwal in exchange for a 2 percent stake in the company.
But the company’s decision of laying off employees who said that they were stressed in an internal survey has drawn the ire of netizens. “HR is not your friend,” a user on X said. “Sue the company “Yes Madam”. Take them to court for wrongful termination. Shame them,” wrote another user. Yes Madam’s step is unusual — most HR surveys like these are confidential, and are used by management to make changes in their processes and workings. To use a survey on stress to fire employees who say they are stressed might be a first for any startup anywhere in the world.