A Delhi-based Chartered Accountant is facing considerable criticism after a controversial LinkedIn post regarding her employee's resignation. Meenal Goel was angered by the refusal to give a pay hike of Rs 1,000 from Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 and framing the incident as a series of corporate lessons.
In her now-viral post, Goel described her employee's resignation, saying, “My employee resigned yesterday. Why? Because we didn't want to give her a raise of Rs 1,000.” She went on to quote her maid's parting words: “Call only when you are ready to pay me Rs 3,000. The confidence she had — oh my God!”
Goel claimed to have learned three key organizational lessons from the incident.
– The importance of asking for a raise
– Valuing one's contribution
– Less settlement.
She expressed her thoughts on self-advocacy in the workplace by stating, “Never leave your personal growth in the hands of fate, God or other people. You have to take responsibility for your own growth.”
However, her post quickly drew backlash from social media users who criticized her for “glorifying the exploitation of domestic workers”.
Many pointed out the hypocrisy of her message, highlighting the disparity between demands for fair compensation among white-collar workers and the low wages of those in the informal sector.
“Only on LinkedIn dot com will you find such entitled people giving corporate lessons after exploiting their home jobs to the point of making them resign,” commented one user.
Drawing a parallel to the difference in sectors, another user commented, “It's purely a demand-supply game. There is an abundant supply of maids in the market. If you lose someone, you'll have someone else ready to settle for the same or less. They're no different from the unorganized workforce, they'll be quite cautious, they Not going away from notice. As they have emi for loans to pay, in a nation like ours it is the population that decides.”
The incident has reignited discussions about the treatment of domestic workers in urban areas like Delhi, calling for greater awareness and respect for those in the unorganized sector. As corporate leaders advocate for improved work-life balance, this episode underscores the stark contrast between the experiences of organized and unorganized labor.