Layoffs, unpaid salaries, toxic work culture plague young startup employees in Hyderabad

Dominating as one of the cities with the highest employment opportunities thanks to its booming IT sector and the annual influx of millions of young people, Hyderabad is at the heart of entrepreneurship. According to the Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2024, there are over 650 startups in the city, which constitutes 6% of startups in the country and is the 4th best startup ecosystem in the country.

However, despite the city’s widely recognized reputation for promoting and facilitating the start-up of cross-cutting new businesses and welcoming ambitious job seekers from across the country, young workers in the city report various structural problems such as job insecurity, excessive workload, unstable and dysfunctional work ethic , lax grievance systems and general workplace toxicity.

Anshu Bhingradia (25), who worked as a graphic designer and 3D animator for a Banjara Hills-based FMCG brand, alleged that he was laid off within four months of joining the company in 2023 and is still yet to receive his last month’s salary. “I had to use my own device for office work, which eventually broke down due to the heavy workload. It cost me lakhs to recover the data and repair the device without the company’s help. Despite this, I was fired within four months without giving any reason. I still haven’t received my monthly salary for working overtime almost every day. The company refuses to communicate and resolve the matter,” he told The Hindu.

Brane Enterprises, a Hi-Tec City-based technology startup with ties to Byrraju Ramalinga Raju, the prime accused in the Satyam Computers scandal, and listing his son Byrraju Rama Raju and other family members as shareholders, recently laid off over 1,500 employees and failed to settle salaries for a period of 4 months.

“I joined the company on May 6 this year and on August 3, I was laid off within 4 months. My 3.5 months salary along with full and final settlement of 5 lakhs is still pending. Currently, cases of other employees of the company are pending before labor courts and civil courts, but there does not seem to be any chance of recovering the wages due to us. We have blocked company laptops at least to get our relief letters,” says a former employee of the company, requesting anonymity, who moved from Kolkata to Hyderabad after completing his postgraduate studies in search of a job.

“I didn’t know that Raju was a ‘mentor’ before joining Ramalinga. I saw it as an opportunity to launch my career in the tech industry in Hyderabad. I am afraid that the owners have powerful connections and will retaliate severely if I try to file a complaint,” he added.

While long and grueling working hours, sporadic hiring and firing, and salary freezes in start-up companies are often overlooked and whitewashed as a “hustle culture,” workers also highlight the lack of grievance systems at start-ups.

“I have personally experienced and seen various other colleagues routinely tolerate shaming, ridicule and derogatory remarks at the Jubilee Hills-based fashion startup. A male manager shamelessly commented on my weight and physical appearance and invaded my personal space,” said 25-year-old Sindhu Vaishnavi, who was forced to quit his job within three months of starting work.

Under the POSH Act 2013, every organization with 10 or more employees must establish an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) to deal with sexual harassment complaints and establish a redressal policy. “I complained to HR and a senior manager but they took no action. There was no regulatory body to which I could complain. This culture is so pervasive among fashion startups that reform is a distant fantasy. Not only is this detrimental to mental health, but it also forces young girls with big dreams to leave the industry as soon as they enter it,” she emphasizes.

Similarly, Nallakunta’s Piyali Chakraborty, who resigned from an ed-tech startup within 2 months of taking up the position, highlights the extent of verbal and emotional abuse an employee faces for voicing concerns and demanding reforms.

“I had to arrive at 8:30 a.m. because work lasted until 10 p.m. The office lacked adequate seating, air conditioning and basic amenities such as a cafe or refrigerator. The shocking thing is that we didn’t even have computers; all tasks were done manually. Strict rules prohibited communication with other departments, and reporting any concerns was met with verbal abuse from the Secretary, which created a sense of fear among employees, she said. Indian.

“When I decided to leave, the company refused to return my original documents, which they took from me as ‘security’ during the recruitment process. In exchange for the documents, I was forced to take up additional work and give up my monthly salary, she added.

The recent death of 26-year-old chartered accountant Anna Sebastian Perayil, who was working at Ernst & Young (EY) in Pune, allegedly due to enormous work pressure, has come to the forefront of talks on promoting a healthier work culture.

When asked about long-term solutions to the city-wide work culture, Anita Rego, a psychiatric social worker in Hyderabad, notes: “Victim blaming can be counterproductive and result in job losses and increased health problems for employees. There is a tendency to shift the narrative to the person under stress. Toxicity in the workplace is an organizational problem and systemic problems within the organization must be addressed.

Ms Rego, who curates a two-year Tuning in to Empathetic Leadership program supporting a group of manufacturing companies to reduce workplace bullying, harassment and grievances, emphasizes that healthier workplaces and a happier workforce contribute to better productivity and profits , while calling on companies to initiate support programs for employees.