Home salon services startup YesMadam has been embroiled in controversy after allegedly laying off employees who said they were stressed.
One of its employees, Anushka Dutta, had shared on LinkedIn a screenshot of an email from the company’s HR manager about laying off employees who had reported high stress levels in an internal survey held by the company. The Noida-based company had allegedly laid off over 100 employees who said in the internal survey that they were feeling stressed.
“To ensure that no one remains stressed at work, we have made the difficult decision to part ways with employees who indicated significant stress,” stated the email.
A day later, the hyperlocal ecommerce app magicpin invited the laid-off employees to work at the company.
The company’s creative director, Madhav Sharma, shared a picture on LinkedIn showing two people wearing helmets and holding placards. One of the placards read: “No madam. Stressed employees can perform! Because they care,” and another said, “magicpin invites laid off employees to join across department.”
While it was a marketing strategy, many users on LinkedIn commended magicpin for offering jobs to laid-off employees.
Meanwhile, YesMadam has now claimed it has not fired any employee for being stressed at work. Its response came after an overwhelmingly negative reaction to the Dutta’s screenshot. Several social media users criticised YesMadam for the lack of logic in the operation; some also wondered if it was all a marketing stunt.
In a statement on LinkedIn, YesMadam said that the social media posts were part of a planned effort to highlight the serious issue of workplace stress. It also reiterated that employees were not laid off and were given a break to reset, urged to rest and recharge themselves, and encouraged to release their stress.
It said it had also offered employees a corporate programme offering head massages and spa sessions at the workplace.
The company also said it is also launching a ‘De-Stress Leave’ policy.
