New Delhi: A startup founder named Karan Bhatia’s post about a new employee calling in sick on LinkedIn went viral. In the post, he spoke about an employee who, before their very first day at work, took sick leave. The incident sparked a passionate debate over the Internet regarding workplace culture and burnout amongst the younger workforce.
The viral post published some screenshots from an email in which the employee informed the founder about not being able to show up on Day 1 due to health reasons. The founder reacted sharply, saying, “This isn’t sick leave, this is a lack of accountability,” sparking divided reactions across social media.
Founder’s reaction sparks online debate
Karan penned, “A new hire was supposed to join my company today. She had already postponed her joining date once. 44 minutes before she was meant to start, I got this: ‘Good evening sir. I’ll be joining tomorrow. As of now, I’m not feeling well today, so I won’t be able to start my work today.’ She has not joined. She has no work. She is on sick leave from a job that has not begun. This isn’t sick leave. This is anticipatory leave — a pre-emptive strike against employment itself. Nobody tells you that 60% of being a founder is just reading WhatsApp messages and quietly asking the ceiling, ‘what is happening.’ The job is not the job. The job is the plot twists.”
The post quickly gained traction online, with users debating whether the founder’s response reflected unreasonable expectations or genuine workplace concerns around professionalism.
Internet divided over work culture expectations
A lot of users on various social media platforms took the side of the employee by explaining that getting ill right before the first day at work was not an abnormal event. They went further by saying that it could have been a sudden attack that made the person fall sick, and therefore, the individual had no intention of prioritising work above personal health issues.
Some users agreed with the founder that calling oneself sick on the first day was suspicious. This incident has brought up the broader discussion of a toxic work environment online.
Debate reflects changing attitudes towards work
The viral debate also reflected on the ever-increasing rift that is being seen between the traditional working culture and the modern perspective of young professionals about work-life balance and mental well-being. Though some users found the founder’s response to be extreme, there were others who believed that startups work in such a high-stress environment where even one minute could make a difference to the whole team.
As the screenshots keep on getting shared on social media platforms, this episode is yet another example of how fast-changing times are for the Indian startup culture.