A Reddit post by an experienced professional has gone viral for exposing how a toxic workplace in India affected his mental and physical health.
Posting to the “Indian Workplace” subreddit, the man recounted how, after spending nearly two decades working with multinational companies across the United States (US) and Europe, he found himself unemployed and back in India. Left with few options in a tough job market, he joined a startup despite sensing early on that something was off.
According to his post, the warning signs at his new job appeared almost immediately. From the second week, he noticed a number of red flags: manipulated revenue data, unchecked egos in leadership, and employees expected to work from late mornings into the early hours of the next day.
He described being caught in a toxic cycle of favouritism, gaslighting, unrealistic client demands, and a complete disregard for professional boundaries. Despite the chaos, fear of unemployment during a hiring downturn kept him from walking away.
Over time, the stress and constant pressure began to chip away at his emotional well-being and ethical values. Depression crept in, but he pushed on until his health finally gave out.
“Was that monthly salary worth it?”
Unable to endure the environment any longer, he finally resigned without another job lined up. But the damage had already been done. Just weeks after quitting, he suffered a massive heart attack.
“Now I’m home—jobless, with a damaged heart and an uncertain future. Was that monthly salary worth permanently destroying my health? Hell no...” he wrote.
Doctors inserted two emergency stents and warned him that had he reached the hospital just 30 minutes later, he might not have survived.
“There’s always a choice—we just often fail to recognize it until the consequences become physical,” the user wrote.
Solidarity and support
His story struck a nerve with readers. Several users shared their own experiences of high-stress jobs leading to serious health consequences.
One commenter revealed that her husband, only 31 at the time, had already suffered two heart attacks, and had three stents inserted due to the demands of the hotel industry. She left her own job to become his caregiver.
Others commended the original poster for choosing his well-being over his paycheck, offering him encouragement and solidarity.
“While joblessness is daunting, it is still a better fate than losing one’s life,” one user wrote.
