A corporate employee working in a backend operations team has opened up about the growing pressure and alleged bias at his workplace, sharing how his lead sent a “concern” email just 15 minutes after his shift ended — even though the assigned task was already done.
The Reddit post, details how the incident occurred on a regular weekday when the employee’s 1 PM–10 PM shift was about to end.
“At 9:50 PM my process lead (PL) messaged me on Teams asking about a task. That’s ten minutes before my shift ends. I was already closing my day-end work and finishing that very task. I submitted it before 10 PM, logged off, and shut my laptop,” he wrote.
‘The calls started after 10 PM’
According to him, he began receiving repeated calls from his seniors shortly after logging off.
“At 10:02 PM the calls started. Five missed calls from her, then my deputy manager (DM) called five times more — kept ringing till about 10:10 PM. I didn’t answer. I was off shift, done for the day,” he said, adding that he does not respond to work calls unless something is marked urgent.
Soon after, he claimed, a formal email was sent at 10:15 PM — fifteen minutes after his shift had officially ended — CC’ing multiple people including a new incoming manager.
“She acknowledges in the same mail that the task was already completed. Still goes on to complain that I didn’t reply to her Teams message ‘which takes a few seconds.’ She even tries to set a narrative that I ‘usually don’t respond around logout time.’ Exactly the same stunt she pulled last time we had a new manager joining,” he wrote.
‘I can’t leave, I can’t stay’
The employee further alleged that such incidents were part of a larger pattern of workplace targeting whenever new managers joined the team. Despite being handed heavy workloads and training responsibilities, his performance reviews and promotions were delayed.
“They’ve trashed my image so much that every small miss is made to look like a major one. Others miss deadlines, take extra breaks — it’s fine. But if I reply two minutes late, I get an official email,” he said.
“I cannot resign as I’m the only bread earner in my family. I’ve given 28 interviews until now, cracked 2 of them, got an offer letter but my senior manager didn’t reduce my notice period due to which I lost the offer,” he added.
The post ends on a somber note, reflecting the exhaustion and helplessness faced by many employees in toxic workplaces.
“So yeah I am just clueless about what to do now, I cannot leave, I cannot stay and I just want to end it,” he wrote.
The story has resonated with several online users, many of whom expressed empathy and urged him to prioritize his mental well-being, while others shared similar experiences of late-night calls, micro-management, and corporate double standards.
(This story is based on a post shared by a social media user. The details, opinions, and statements quoted herein belong solely to the original poster and do not reflect the views of Financialexpress.com. We have not independently verified the claims.)