New Delhi: A Gurugram startup has recently triggered a broader debate on the work culture and employee expectations after being shared on an online platform. This debate was posted on LinkedIn by Nishant Joshi, who has recounted a conversation which involving his younger cousin employed at an early-stage startup.
This post has described how the routine of office interaction escalated into a discussion on the expectations around the commitment and the work hours.
According to that LinkedIn post, the employee logged off at 7 PM, which has been reported to not sit well with the startup’s founder. The employee was called in for the meeting, where the founder spoke at length about the importance of working harder and taking full responsibility.
The founder emphasized the need for adapting the founder’s mindset and encouraged the employee to treat the company as his own baby.
In exchange, it took a very different turn when the employee responded directly to the remarks. He described the reply by highlighting the gap between expectations and compensation.
The employee has stated that he would treat the company as his own baby if the founder gave a 50% equity stake. After this, he responded that right now, at this position, I am just a babysitter whose shift ends at 7 PM.”
After this post gained traction online, it prompted varied responses from the users. Several supported the employee’s stance by stating that such expectations often arise when the roles and deliverables are not clearly defined to the employee.
At the same time, others agreed with the analogy presented, by stating that prompting the culture of ownership without corresponding financial incentives places undue stress on the employees.
