Choosing a company to work for, switching jobs, staying put with a job even when it's low paying, resigning from a job even when it's high paying, there are numerous decisions that you take as you grow in this corporate world. Most of these decisions are based on the company culture of the organization you are working for. You spend more than half of your day at your workplace. If you see, you are in your office for half of the year. It is like a second home. So, don't you want it to be a place where you enjoy along with growing in your field?

Every company has a different set of rules and regulations, different cultures, workloads as well as work-life balance. Some companies are very traditional in their outlook whereas others are modern and flexible.

Countries in the west have many labor-protection laws that ensure companies do not misuse them. Norway and Denmark are considered top countries having labor protection laws. These countries have long labor traditions, as well as laws and enforcement to back up their principles. India on the other hand is graded 5 (worst category) for countries having labor laws.

Despite the younger generation's cry for work-life balance, companies continue to over-exhaust them without any compensation. 9-5 is just on paper, in reality, work continues way beyond 5 pm. Weekends also get consumed with work from home. Due to the pandemic hybrid work, work from home, and online meetings are on the rise. Now even after office work has started many companies keep late-night online meetings or give extra work that has to be done from home. Salary is not increased because of the extra work. As labor is so replaceable in India, people tend to overburden their employees without monetary or any other type of concession.

So, understanding the company culture is crucial. Many people leave their jobs after 2-3 months because they cannot adjust to the culture. People who have worked abroad or have a modern perspective try and bring these western laws to improve work-life balance in their companies. They want their employees to stay loyal to them. So, they keep the system more transparent and take feedback from their employees.

Many companies are known for their good culture and work atmosphere. People in the job market research the work culture before joining a company. A company that showcases a good image of itself attracts a lot of employees. The ones who show a bad atmosphere do not attract the best talents and their employees do not remain loyal.

Amazon, Samsung, TCS, and Tata Motors have a good image as employers. They provide adequate incentives and a good work-life balance. Whereas on the other hand, few brands have received a burst of negative publicity due to their CEO's mentality and methods of operation.

The story about Bombay Shaving Company

The CEO of Bombay Shaving Company, Shantanu Deshpande, in a recent post on LinkedIn shared his advice to recruits in the corporate industry. He said that they should work for 18 hours a day for the first 4-5 years of their career. He asked young workers to "worship" work and avoid "Rona-Dhona (cribbing)". He continued by saying "I see a lot of youngsters who watch random content all over and convince themselves that 'work-life balance, spending time with family, rejuvenation bla bla' is important. It is, but not that early."

This post faced extreme backlash from people. They showed how CEOs promote toxic work culture in their companies. Following this Mr. Shantanu made a post to apologize to the audience and left LinkedIn.

The LinkedIn Workforce Confidence Index released in 2020 said two in five working professionals in India were experiencing increased stress and anxiety.

The story about Pristyn Care

Sometime after the first controversial post by Mr. Shantanu Deshpande, Harsimarbir Singh, co-founder of Pristyn Care, posted on LinkedIn 'interesting interview hacks' his company used to find 'Special Driven people'.

The post contained 7 points that included ringing the candidates at 8 am to find out is they are early risers to scheduling telephonic interviews at 11 pm to look for late workers. He said that he made candidates wait for 6-8 hours in the office to test their culture and patience, scheduled interviews on Sunday to test their commitments, and asked outstation candidates to show up the next day for an interview.

This post also received heavy backlash. Some social media handles uploaded screenshots of the post and called out the companies for such harassment.

Past employees commented about the toxic culture at the company and complained about how bosses used to scream at them in front of the entire office.

This led to a huge cry of employees complaining about how they are being made to overwork without any compensation.

So, before you enter the job market analyze the industry, work trends, working hours, and corporate culture.

If you feel you are getting exploited at your job then talk to HR, take a leap of faith, and resign. Join another company, or start one of your own. The possibilities are endless in today's world.  

                                                              --------------------------------------------------------

Shimbi Growth Labs
The team that helps you grow your business!

Sign up below for our newsletter to receive exclusive business growth tips in your mailbox

Established in 2005, Shimbi Labs was born with the idea of developing simple, powerful yet affordable software for freelancers and small businesses to help them grow.

Shimbi Labs is the creator of 

Budo - Simplest Website Builder
Ninjin - Easiest Online Store Builder
Shimbi Invoice - Online Invoicing made easy.