'No accountability, no empathy': Employee calls out toxic workplace experience after abrupt firing

An employee at a small Indian firm has described what he called a “toxic workplace”, detailing repeated salary delays, erratic work demands and a sudden termination, in a Reddit post that has caught everyone’s attention online.

Writing on the issue, he said he had been “struggling with this for over a year now” after switching careers around 1.5 years ago. He left a well-paying role, completed a course and chose to restart as a fresher, adding that he was financially stable and “okay with the step back.”

He said his job search exposed another challenge. “When I started applying for internships, I was honestly shocked, almost 90% were unpaid. I was clear I wouldn’t do unpaid work,” he wrote, adding that he eventually secured a paid internship, which later converted into a full-time role.

Read the viral post here.

However, he said conditions at the company quickly deteriorated. Describing it as a “tiny company (3–4 people)”, he said the founder’s management style was “intense, to say the least”, with constant calls for updates, long meetings and rude communication.

Despite this, he said he continued to put in extra effort. “I still pushed through, took detailed notes, delivered everything on time, put in extra hours, because I just wanted to convert it into a full-time role.”

He did receive an offer, which he described as “decent for a fresher”, but said deeper issues soon became apparent.

According to him, the business was not the founder’s primary focus, as “his main income is from real estate, so this company never really felt like a priority to him.”

He said salaries were never paid on time, there was no proper leave policy with employees expected to work weekends to make up for time off, and work demands were often unpredictable and last-minute. He also alleged a pattern of unfair treatment, including delayed payments and verbal misconduct. Despite regularly raising these concerns and saying he “wasn’t someone who stayed silent,” he said he was terminated after 1.5 years without any prior discussion. “No discussion. No warning. Just… done.”

While he is currently serving a two-month notice period and preparing for a job switch, he said the situation worsened when he was asked to work over a weekend despite pending salary dues.

“One month into my notice period, still no salary this month. And today (Monday morning), he messages asking me to work both Saturday and Sunday and take Monday and Tuesday off instead… informing me the same day,” he wrote.

He said he declined to work on Sunday, but when asked for a reason, the exchange left him overwhelmed. “I’m usually a very composed, practical person. I’ve handled this situation for 1.5 years. But today I broke down. I’m just so exhausted.”

Reflecting on the experience, he questioned workplace practices that leave employees chasing their own pay. “I don’t understand how people like this operate. How do they treat employees like this and feel okay? No accountability, no empathy.”

He added that while he is financially stable, others may not be in the same position. “I’m fortunate I don’t have financial pressure, but what about others who do? Why should anyone have to beg for their own salary?”

He said he is continuing to prepare for a transition while managing work, adding that “in between… it just gets really hard to stay motivated.”

The post quickly went viral with many Redditors sharing similar frustrations and advice.

One user wrote, “They fired you, but you’re still working ‘notice period’? Why? Read your employment contract, they should ideally pay your notice when they fire you. I wouldn’t even be working the 5 days if my salary was delayed.”

Another added, “This is why I will never trust start ups or small companies. They expect you to work like you own the company. The same thing happed to me where I didn't get paid at all for one month. After I left I just gave up asking since I was so done. Hope you have better opportunities in the future :)”